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Heroic Score167582nd out of 4480
Number of Medals18
Total Heroic & Non-Heroic Score199235 of 4480
U.S. Army#215of 2016
Airborne#27of 71
Korean War#63of 197
Vietnam War (WIA)#3of 4
Operation Hump#1of 1
Lawrence Joel
Sergeant first class, U.S. Army
Korean WarVietnam War (WIA)Operation Hump
Awards & Decorations
- Medal of Honor
- Silver Star
- Purple Heart
- Army Good Conduct Medal (2)
- Army of Occupation Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- National Defense Service Medal (2)
- Korean Service Medal
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Vietnam Service Medal (2)
- United Nations Service Medal (Korea)
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (2)
- Presidential Unit Citation (Army) — (United States)
- Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Ribbon Rack
Biography
Lawrence Joel was a United States Army soldier who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. While serving in South Vietnam as a medic with the rank of specialist five assigned to 1st Battalion of the 503rd Infantry 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 medic to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War and the first living black American to receive this medal since the Spanish–American War in 1898.
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Score Breakdown
Medal of Honor(base 100)
+100Silver Star(base 45)
+45Unified Scoring Metrics Bonuses(career variety ×1.15 (2 medal types))
+22Heroic Score167 pts