Earl Jones @nomustrd

RESPECT 🫡 🇺🇸 AND HONOR !! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Lawrence Joel was sh*t through the chest and left for dead in a Vietnam battlefield, but the Army medic refused to stop. He treated wounded soldiers under machine-gun fire, dragged men to safety, and kept fighting until his own body gave out. Joel was serving as a medical specialist with the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. It was November 8, 1965, near Bien Hoa, Vietnam. His unit came under a massive enemy attack. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces opened fire from hidden positions. American soldiers were being hit everywhere. Joel ran toward them. He treated the wounded. Then he was shot. A bullet entered his chest. He collapsed. The enemy kept firing. Joel got back up. He continued treating casualties while bullets ripped through the battlefield. Then he was shot again. And again. He refused evacuation. He kept moving between wounded soldiers. He bandaged wounds. Administered medication. Dragged men away from exposed positions. At one point, he crawled toward a soldier who was bleeding heavily and treated him while enemy fire continued around them. Joel eventually suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was losing blood. He was exhausted. But he refused to stop until the wounded men were stabilized. When reinforcements finally arrived, Joel was evacuated. He survived. For his actions, he received the Medal of Honor. He became the first living African American soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Vietnam. But the story didn't end there. Joel continued serving in the Army. He later worked with veterans. He retired after more than 20 years of service. Lawrence Joel died in 1984. He was 57. His legacy was later honored when the U.S. Army named a clinic after him. The soldier who had been shot and left for dead became a symbol of battlefield medicine. He didn't stop because he was wounded. He kept treating other soldiers while bleeding himself. Lawrence Joel was shot repeatedly in Vietnam. He kept crawling toward the wounded.