What It Really Means To Fight For Your Life

SSG David Bellavia is one of my heroes. I have written about him in the past. His actions in Fallujah earned him the Silver Star and Bronze Star and a recommendation for the Medal of Honor. His crime is surviving, and for that it appears that he will not receive the Medal of Honor. No living service member has received the award in our Global War on Terrorism (GWOT); they have all been awarded posthumously.

What follows is a video in which David, in his own words, along with a British narrator, recounts one of the bloodiest engagements to take place in Fallujah.

WARNING! It is intense with the occasional profanity, but it conveys what it means to be in a fight literally to the death. In combat there are only winners and losers, and normally losers wind up in a body bag. You can't vote present, and you can't deliberate over a course of action.


The killing of four civilian contractors and the subsequent mutilation and hanging of their bodies from a bridge is what finally prompted our actions in Fallujah. Today three Navy SEAL's face a court martial for their actions when they captured one of the ringleaders of the terrorist cell which carried out these acts.

David has written a book about the battle of Fallujah entitled House to House and after getting out he even dabbled in politics, running for a congressional seat in upstate New York at one time. In addition, he has worked with an organization called Vets For Freedom, which over the last couple of years has had a traveling group of heroes going cross country and giving speeches and public appearances to try and raise awareness of today's heroes. He is currently the Executive Director of the Warrior Legacy Foundation, a group which tries to ensure that no veteran is forgotten.