May is Military Appreciation Month and Connecting Vets is running a series of veteran profiles telling the stories of those who have made the military to civilian transition. In the series, the veterans discuss their military career, how they transitioned back to civilian life and what advice they offer to vets who are currently going through what they did.
For this profile, not only is former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant David Bellavia a decorated veteran, but he is also a colleague here at Audacy. Bellavia is an author and popular radio show host on WBEN in his hometown of Buffalo, New York.
In a conversation soon after he was awarded the Medal of Honor in June 2019 with Connecting Vets' Phil Briggs, Bellavia shared some stories that prove his bravery, humility and awesome sense of humor.
On Joining the Military, Early Service
Bellavia, who enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman in 1999, faced a choice two years into his service about what path he should take. After the terror attacks on 9/11, he decided to stay, feeling the sense of duty that had been ingrained in him by his grandfather, Army veteran Joseph Brunacini, who served during the Normandy Campaign in World War II and earned a Bronze Star.
When asked about what kind of young man he was before boot camp, Bellavia said, “Oh that’s a funny story.” He explained that he was not sure exactly what to expect at Infantry boot camp, but he thought he would be prepared.
“I heard basic training for Infantry was 16 weeks … I didn’t know there were multiple haircuts, so I brought a hairdryer ... cause when my hair grows back I want to be prepared. So when I dump out my bag and a drill sergeant finds it and goes, ‘Who the hell brought a hair dryer to basic training!’ so I denied it and my whole platoon got smoked … but I learned quickly.”
In February 2004, after nine months deployed to Kosovo, Bellavia’s unit received orders to deploy directly to Iraq. During the next year, the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, were stationed along the Iranian border and part in the battles for Najaf, Mosul, Baqubah, Muqdadiyah and Fallujah.
The Batttle
On the night of Nov. 10, 2004, Bellavia was a squad leader in support of Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah. The mission was to clear a block of a dozen buildings, where it was thought six or more insurgents had taken shelter.
After making no contact in the first nine buildings, Bellavia’s platoon immediately came under fire from the front hallway after moving into the 10th compound. Two insurgents manning machine guns under a stairwell ambushed the soldiers as they attempted to clear the home. And more insurgents opened fire from a window trapping the soldiers, wounding two from shattered glass and another was grazed by a round to his stomach.
Bellavia exchanged weapons to grab the Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), entered the fatal funnel of the room and opened fire until the team could escape. He then called for a Bradley Fighting Vehicle to lay down suppressive fire on the building. Then Bellavia decided to move back inside to determine whether insurgents were still alive in the house.
Bellavia heard insurgents whispering from the other side of the wall and entered the room and fired, but was forced to fall back after receiving return fire. He then saw an insurgent loading an RPG launcher and single-handedly assaulted the room, killing the insurgent before he could fire. The second insurgent fired at Bellavia and wounded him.
Bellavia then single-handedly cleared the entire house, eliminating four other insurgents. In the process of that evening, he saved an entire squad while risking his own life. For those actions, he was awarded the congressional Medal of Honor.
"Bellavia’s bravery, complete disregard for his own safety, and unselfish and courageous actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States," his MoH citation reads.
On Bravery
“Fallujah was the Super Bowl of urban fights,” Bellavia told Connecting Vets. "We knew going in that we were supporting Marines, and that it was going to be a 30-day fight.” He explained that Fallujah was a city about the size of Tampa, Fla. With a vast majority of the population already evacuated, their assignment was to take out the enemy at all costs, “They were not going out without a fight. We were going door to door in a very large city and we were going to pull them out one way or another. And on Nov. 10, we had one of probably 150 firefights.”
On Humility
“We love to talk about what happens when you kick down a door and there’s a bad guy with a gun,” Bellavia said. “But everyone who kicks down a door is prepared to face a guy with a gun ... Everyone who stacks on a wall, or goes through a door is doing so with the intent of taking out the enemy with fire. Because you found someone in a house doesn’t mean you’re any more or less brave … Your survivability can be just dumb luck, and a lot of brave, tough, far more skilled warriors didn’t come home. I just feel very fortunate to be alive and very fortunate to have served with the men from the 2/2 Infantry and the 1st Infantry Division.”
On PTSD
After surviving some of the worst urban combat in the history of the Iraq War, Bellavia has grappled with some difficult memories. But his description of how he dealt with them, is something that can give every veteran hope.
"Ya know, there’s two ways you can look at a bad experience in your life. You can realize that this happened and there’s nothing you can do to change it. And you can become empowered by it and you can become a force of good … Or you can just be victimized by it. And there were years where I was victimized by it, and I was disconnected and I didn’t want to live my life.”
Bellavia explained how veterans should look to help each other, “Maybe I can help a younger guy going through their phase right now. Now I just refused to be victimized by something I had no control over. In the Army, we were trained to be empowered and be professionals. And we were trained to stay with each other and leave no one behind on the battlefield. Well, guess what, when we come home, we shouldn’t leave anyone behind either.”