Best of TNQ - Staff Sergeant David Bellavia: First Living Medal of Honor Recipient from the Iraq War, Author of House to House

Team Never Quit

Marcus Luttrell

Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Education, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Self-improvement

4.9 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2021

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What does an Army squad leader do in a battlefield situation when his platoon encounters three floors of insurgents and is pinned with rooftop snipers firing away?

If you're Davis Bellavia, you lead your team into action. David single-handedly saved his entire squad, risking his own life to allow his fellow soldiers to break contact and reorganize when trapped by overwhelming insurgent fire. He then voluntarily entered and cleared an insurgent strong point, killing four and seriously wounding another. His actions stand as a testament to those who put everything on the line as they do the grim work required to keep each other safe and alive on the battlefield.

David Bellavia is the only living recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross.

In this episode you will hear:

We not only have to live for ourselves and our families, but we have to remind people who our lost soldiers are, because they didn't drop dead of a heart attack, or were killed by some misfortune or bad luck; they voluntarily chose to stand up when the bullets were coming and they voluntarily said “I'll do this for you”.
You're not a man until you acknowledge that you don't have a father.
Peer pressure makes you smoke cigarettes when you're 11. Peer pressure ca also make you charge a machine gun nest at Normandy beach. It all depends who your peers are.
When the voices in your head say quit, don't.
You really can't appreciate life until you've gone through combat.
There's no education like the United States military.
Never bring a hairdryer to basic training.
You can't mourn on the battlefield.
In the case of fallen soldiers, we should exchange the word “memorialize” for the word “celebrate”.
America is still the shining city on the hill.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Team Never Quit podcast is sponsored by Navy Federal Credit Union. Whether you're looking at buying
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0:08.9	makes it simple with their fast and easy auto loan process. Learn more at NavyFederal.org.
0:14.4	All right everybody welcome back to the TNQ podcast. I'm your host Marcus Matrell. Every week it's my job to fire you up to ignite the legend inside of you and to push you to your greatness. Join me every week as I take you into my
0:41.2	briefing room with some of the most hard charge of people on the planet. They're going to show you how to embrace the stuff to life, teach you the values of working your ass off and charge through whatever life throws at you. This is the team never quit podcast.
0:55.2	Don't buckle up, buttercup.
0:57.2	TNQ Nation welcome back to another episode. My name is Andrew Brock and Bush. I'm your producer and joined by two of the most badass podcasts host in the planet. Navy seals Marcus and Morgan the trail. Hey guys welcome back.
1:16.2	I'll rub brother. How goes how goes how goes Marcus I heard you just got back from a little vacay. I did how was it awesome. I saw the pictures man. I didn't take them tell I you. I think my weeding invited. Oh, you got a person on social media. Oh, this is the end of the summer kind of back to school back to school deal. That's cool part about having the family dynamic now. Wife and kids. I mean forward trail around with friends and trail around with the military.
1:45.2	Then each cruise unique and different and you know kind of each mission adventures different. It's a lot of fun man. I enjoyed it. That place seemed cool. It was. Yeah, it's beautiful man.
1:55.2	I think you described it like Disney for a dog. Disney for for country for like the fish and then there's a museum there. The natural history there from wildlife to Native American is unbelievable in the scenery. I mean just the waterfalls and mountains.
2:10.2	Drive them a golf cart into a mountain and there's waterfalls inside the mountain and then there'll be a bar there and then the bar bar like a bar bar.
2:18.2	You got everything. I mean and just a wildlife and scenery is just unbelievable. Food's great. People are great. I mean the staff there it's tucked in there in the Ozarks on the lake of the Ozarks. So you can ski.
2:31.2	You see the lady of the Ozarks statue. Uh-uh. You do? Uh-uh. It's the third largest statue in the country. I must have had it down in Washington or something. She was been laying down. Please. Yeah. It was hot that day. She might have been in the shade. I don't know. I didn't see her.
2:47.2	Y'all should check this place out. It's called Big Seater Lodge. Yeah, we're going. Hey, if you're looking for a vacation, go with the family or with your friends and family. I recommend this. But they got. They got a go-cart track. Has NASCAR.
2:59.2	Body's on. Body's on. Go. Car. It's got a turbo. I'll do it. Oh, yeah. I did everything. They got a just the. I mean they got more skeletons of. They got a that short face bear. It's unbelievable. It's almost impossible to explain. We were there for a few days, man. We still didn't get to see everything. But it is unbelievable, man. It's probably one of coolest places I've been.
3:20.2	And I mean, just for everything. The people atmosphere. Yes, since that's all the pictures, I was like, yeah, I got to. I got to go. I took my wife to Conroe. Took.
3:29.2	We went to Sonic.
3:40.2	Today's Patreon question of the day is coming from Ethan. And he asks, what is your favorite TV show?
3:48.2	Oh, well, I just finished justified moving on to Yellowstone. So that's the present ones. I would say favorite TV show of all time.
3:59.2	Man, this is just something I can rewatch over and over again. Justify was amazing.
4:04.2	Oh, so yeah, brother, I burned through them. That's what you don't deploy into burn through TV show.
4:09.2	The appointments and then I hit a million miles on the plane usually every year. So I don't. I watch those on. And if you if you're looking for criminal, you can't go wrong with law and order or criminal minds and shield shield justified.
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