Winston-Salem's own Lawrence Joel, the first black medic in the United States to win the Medal of Honor, would have been 84 years old Wednesday. To celebrate the day and Black History Month, his family shared some of their memories and memorabilia with the public, with an exhibit and luncheon at his namesake Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Deborah Joel, his daughter, and Dorothy, his widow, put together an exhibit of Joel's medals, tributes and accomplishments. It includes the Medal of Honor that Joel was awarded following an Army battle in Vietnam in November 1965. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration presented by the United States to a member of its armed forces.
"This is the first time that we have celebrated his birthday in conjunction with Black History Month," Deborah Joel said. "We have a treasure chest of military history and we want to share it.
"We wanted to thank the city for honoring him."
On that day in 1965, Joel's unit had been sent out to check on reports of enemy activity in the area. The unit found the enemy and the U.S. troops were vastly outnumbered. As troops were wounded, Joel took care of them. He was wounded twice, but continued to take care of his buddies.
Joel was presented the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon Johnson on March 9, 1967, in a ceremony at the White House. In addition, Joel also received the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
One of the people who came to the exhibit was one of the soldiers who was treated by Joel that day. Art Thomas lives in Graham now; he found out about the exhibit on the morning news Wednesday and decided to come.
"He saved my life. The only reason I'm standing here today is because of him," Thomas said, his voice cracking with emotion. "There was about 80 men out there that day (and) 48 of them are on the wall in Washington."
Thomas said he was wounded soon after the battle started and it took Joel a while to get to him. Joel gave Thomas a shot of morphine to kill the pain until help arrived and the wounded could be evacuated.
"Joel deserved every honor he got," Thomas said. "A lot of us are fathers and grandfathers now because he was there."
Joel died in 1984 of complications from diabetes. The Army honored his memory by naming clinics at Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell, Ky., in his memory. Although Walter Reed Army Medical Center has closed, an auditorium there was named for Joel.
Helping people was something that Joel spent his life doing. After he retired from the Army, Joel lived in Connecticut. He worked for the Veterans Administration there and later in Winston-Salem.
Joel's nephew Anthony McIntyre said that Joel was a role model and mentor for him when he was growing up.
"He was my uncle, but he was also a father and a friend. He taught me respect and honor," McIntyre said. "I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for him."
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