FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Lawrence Joel ~ 20 August 2018

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Lawrence Joel

Info from here.

           

Lawrence Joel (February 22, 1928–February 4, 1984) was a United States Army Sergeant First Class who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. While serving in Vietnam, as a medic with the rank of Specialist Five assigned to 1st Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Regiment in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Joel received the Silver Star and the Medal of Honor for his heroism in a battle with the Viet Cong that occurred on November 8, 1965. He was the first living black American to receive this medal since the Spanish-American War in 1898.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia.  His grave can be found in section 46, lot 15-1.

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Joel attended city public schools, including Atkins High School, and joined the Merchant Marines for one year. In 1946, at age 18, Joel decided to join the United States Army, making a career out of it. He enlisted in New York City.

On November 8, 1965 then-Specialist Five Lawrence Joel and his battalion of paratroopers were sent on a patrol for Viet Cong soldiers near Bien Hoa, warzone "D" in the heart of Vietnam, conducting Operation Hump. Joel and his battalion shortly found themselves in a Viet Cong ambush, outnumbered six to one. Under heavy gunfire, Joel did his duty as a medic, administering first aid to wounded soldiers. Joel defied orders to stay to the ground and risked his life to help the many wounded soldiers; nearly every soldier in the lead squad was either wounded or killed in the battle. Even after being shot twice (once in the right thigh and once in the right calf), Joel continued to do his job; he bandaged his wounds and continued to help the wounded in not only his unit, but in the nearby company as well. When his medical supplies were depleted, he hobbled around the battlefield for more, using a makeshift crutch. Joel attended to thirteen troops and saved the life of one soldier who suffered from a severe chest wound by improvising and placing a plastic bag over the soldier's chest in order to seal the wound until the supplies were refreshed. After the firefight which lasted over twenty four hours, Joel was hospitalized and shipped to locations including Saigon, Vietnam and Tokyo, Japan to recover. Shortly after, he received the Silver Star for his activities on November 8, 1965.

On March 9, 1967 on the White House lawn, President Lyndon Johnson presented Joel with the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War. His citation reads as follows:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp6c. Joel demonstrated indomitable courage, determination, and professional skill when a numerically superior and well-concealed Viet Cong element launched a vicious attack which wounded or killed nearly every man in the lead squad of the company. After treating the men wounded by the initial burst of gunfire, he bravely moved forward to assist others who were wounded while proceeding to their objective. While moving from man to man, he was struck in the right leg by machine gun fire. Although painfully wounded his desire to aid his fellow soldiers transcended all personal feeling. He bandaged his own wound and self-administered morphine to deaden the pain enabling him to continue his dangerous undertaking. Through this period of time, he constantly shouted words of encouragement to all around him. Then, completely ignoring the warnings of others, and his pain, he continued his search for wounded, exposing himself to hostile fire; and, as bullets dug up the dirt around him, he held plasma bottles high while kneeling completely engrossed in his life saving mission. Then, after being struck a second time and with a bullet lodged in his thigh, he dragged himself over the battlefield and succeeded in treating 13 more men before his medical supplies ran out. Displaying resourcefulness, he saved the life of one man by placing a plastic bag over a severe chest wound to congeal the blood. As 1 of the platoons pursued the Viet Cong, an insurgent force in concealed positions opened fire on the platoon and wounded many more soldiers. With a new stock of medical supplies, Sp6c. Joel again shouted words of encouragement as he crawled through an intense hail of gunfire to the wounded men. After the 24 hour battle subsided and the Viet Cong dead numbered 410, snipers continued to harass the company. Throughout the long battle, Sp6c. Joel never lost sight of his mission as a medical airman and continued to comfort and treat the wounded until his own evacuation was ordered. His meticulous attention to duty saved a large number of lives and his unselfish, daring example under most adverse conditions was an inspiration to all. Sp6c. Joel's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country

On April 8, 1967, the city of Winston-Salem held a parade to honor Lawrence Joel. He grew up on the east side of the city, a predominantly African-American section of the city at the time. The New York Times called it the biggest tribute the city had ever staged. Watch WFMY News 2 vintage video of the parade.

Lawrence Joel retired from military service in 1973. On February 4, 1984, Joel died of complications from diabetes. He is buried in Section 46 of Arlington National Cemetery adjacent to the Memorial Amphitheater.

Besides being the recipient of the Medal of Honor, several different buildings and memorials have been named in his honor.

The first military memorial named in his honor was Joel Drive, which encircles Blanchfield Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, KY, dedicated in 1985.

But wait, there's more....

Click the picture to view the video

"8th of November" is the title of a song written and recorded by the American country music duo Big & Rich, and recorded on their 2005 album Comin' to Your City. Released in May 2006 as that album's third and final single, the song became the duo's seventh Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, where it peaked at #18, in addition to reaching #94 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The lyrics of the refrain refer specifically to "1965, the 8th of November" in describing the battle. In the album version, Kris Kristofferson provides the introduction and explains the significance of November 8, 1965. The 173d Airborne Brigade was ambushed by Viet Cong during Operation Hump. One of the wounded, Niles Harris, was among the several soldiers saved by Lawrence Joel, who later became the first living black American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Spanish-American War. Years later, Harris gave Big Kenny (one half of the duo) the top hat he often wears in public appearances.

The song itself is a mid-tempo set in triple meter, giving an account of Harris' life. In the first verse, at the age of 19, Harris joins the military to fight the Vietnamese. He ends up in Vietnam, "with the smell of napalm in the air." The thirty in his group are then ambushed, as earlier stated by Kristofferson. In the second verse, Harris, now 58, exhibits the lingering injuries he sustained during the war, but he is "strong when he talks" about his injuries and his memories of his fallen comrades.

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[Kathy in Alaska]

My apologies to all.....but I wanted to be sure you got the ping. LOL!!

*sigh* I only hit post once and get a 503 error. Then I check my comments to see if it has gone thru. It does a million times. And it only seems to happen on the ping.

So sorry! But I only hit post once.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

*HUG*
S’okay, Ma!
I was just teasing you!
New system at work. eh?
No training for you, and that’s not fair!
You need to stand up for yourself and those in your dept!
How can they expect you to be productive without training you?

[Kathy in Alaska]

I have no way to know it will happen...it just does.

The Error 503 is the culprit, but I don’t know what 503 is.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Very funny....d:o)

[radu]

I have no idea what Error 503 is either.
Whatever it is, it’s a doozy! LOL

[Kathy in Alaska]

It has to start with our boss. She works from Florida, which is pretty much ok. Did she try to slow the roll out of the new stuff? I don’t know, but like all previous new programs, payroll is the last to know.

I have no clue why they rolled it out before anyone knew what to do. The one training session (for all the folks in our building) of how to enter time works great for salary folks that enter 8 hours each day...not so well for hourly that work thru lunch and after 5p. And the training was at 1p Wednesday on a pay week...the day we make final corrections and print checks. Not cool!

[luvie]

it looks like something gets hung up as an error message. Crazy.....but funny in a weird way. :)

[luvie]

I’m glad yours didn’t make 60 copies. LOL!

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning and ((HUGS)) to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country and thanks, Star for this morning's thread.

How's everyone doing this morning?

[radu]

I don’t know about others but I giggled for a while. :-)

[luvie]

He is the third kitten who has come in the door. I usually let them look around a bit before getting them to leave....either by picking them up or letting them see one of my cats. LOL!

I think I’m going to have to pack it in. I’m still so tired from getting up early. Sure wish they’d start worship at noon.

See ya tomorrow! Hope your Monday goes well. :)

[radu]

No kidding! Once per thread is enough. LOL

[radu]

Howdy, E.G.C.

Were you and Gizmo able to get out for some fun at the lake?

[luvie]

LOL! What else can ya do? :)

[radu]

Well, ya know they HAVE to see where Peaches and Ginger go when they walk through the door. LOL!
I’m waiting for Ghost to get brave enough to take a peek.

Good night and sleep well .... and late. :-) Catch ya tomorrow.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning, E...((HUGS))...hope the weather is good for lake time.

You and Gizmo have a marvelous Monday.

[E.G.C.]

We were and there were quite a few out there. Saw 3 ladies on paddle boats. Also some people playing at the golf course nearby.

[radu]

It sounds like it was a beautiful day there, great for getting out and about. Glad you and Gizmo had fun.

[freedumb2003]

Did something go a little nuts in ping-land?

I have a BUNCH (too many to count) of pings this AM!

*hug*

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you for posting this.