SSG DAVID G. BELLAVIA Medal of Honor Recipient at Norwich University
This special program, posted today for the first time in recognition of National Medal of Honor Day, March 25, 2020, was recorded live at Norwich University on September 25, 2019. et
I first met Staff Sargent David Bellavia in March 2008 following the publication of his gripping combat memoir House To House, the story of his service in Iraq and the fierce fighting during the Second Battle for Fallujah in November 2004. Those actions were first documented a few weeks later in a Time magazine feature article written by Michael Ware. Bellavia would receive a Silver Star for his service and a recommendation for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor in combat.
Fast-forward to 2014 and the release of Only the Dead, Ware’s HBO documentary about combat in Iraq that includes chilling footage of Bellavia re-entering the insurgent stronghold with Ware after an ambush had severely decimated his squad.
The events that followed—supported by witness statements, Ware’s graphic footage and forensic examinations—would be the basis for the award to Bellavia of the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on June 25, 2019.
On September 25, 2019, SSG David Bellavia joined me for a one-on-one conversation at Norwich University, the nation’s oldest private military college, in Northfield, Vermont. The Norwich Corps of Cadets, civilian students and special guests—an audience of more than 1,600—mustered at 6 am in historic Plumley Armory for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the first living Medal of Honor recipient from Iraq, Staff Sargent David Bellavia.
PHOTOS:
Mark Collier, Norwich University
Ed Tracy
DAVID BELLAVIA WEBSITE
BUY THE BOOK - HOUSE TO HOUSE
DUTY 1ST WEBSITE
NORWICH UNIVERSITY WEBSITE
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