On November 8, 1965 then-Specialist Five Lawrence Joel and his battalion of paratroopers from the 173rd were sent on a patrol near Bien Hoa and quickly found themselves in a Viet Cong ambush; outnumbered six to one.
With the casualties mounting, Joel risked his life by helping many wounded soldiers under tremendous enemy fire. Nearly every soldier in the lead squad was either wounded or killed. Even after being shot twice, he simply shot himself some Morphine and kept going using a makeshift crutch.
He administered plasma in full view of the enemy attended to as many soldiers as he could. When his medical supplies were exhausted, he improvised and saved the life of one soldier who had a severe chest wound by placing a plastic bag over the soldier's chest in order to seal the wound.
The battle lasted 24 hours and Joel stayed committed to his men until the end. He survived his wounds and the war.
Joel would eventually become the first medic to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War and the first living African American to receive this medal since the Spanish–American War in 1898. #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #hardfuck