Medal of Honor | Only Living Iraq MOH | Infantry Squad Ldr | 2-2 Infantry | Author | David Bellavia

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2022

⏱️ 106 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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Today we hear our first ever Combat Story from a Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia. David was a squad leader in Task Force 2-2 with the storied 1st Infantry Division during the brutal second battle of Fallujah. At one point, his fellow soldiers were pinned down and David cleared a building in a way that, in his words, 9 times out of 10, would have ended up very differently and with him losing his life and included hand to hand combat with an insurgent..

David shares so much insight into how the military transformed him and gave him some of the most real love he’d ever experienced with his brothers in arms. His second book, Remember the Ramrods: An Army Brotherhood in War and Peace just came out and speaks directly to the bonds that can truly only be forged in combat.

I highly recommend you listen all the way through to hear not just the event for which David would eventually receive the Medal of Honor, but also his response to the question if he would do it all again. It was something I never could have imagined.

With that, I hope you enjoy this very, very rare glimpse into someone who truly risked everything for a handful of others.

#veteran #medalofhonor #army #combat

Find David Online:

- Book Remember the Ramrods https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CQ33GFM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
- Book House to House https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W5MI12/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1
- Only the Dead See the End of War documentary featuring David’s Medal of Honor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iubIoXda8Lw
- Medal of Honor Citation https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/bellavia/
- David's Website http://www.davidbellavia.com/

Find Ryan Online:

- Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory
- Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combatstory/
- Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
- Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial
- Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
- Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
- Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle

Show Notes

0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Guest Introduction (David Bellavia)
1:57 - Interview begins
2:29 - Writing experience and mentors
6:36 - Family background and feeling the need to avenge loss after Black Hawk Down
13:45 - A home invasion that left an impression
19:03 - Best night's sleep first night at Fort Benning
22:42 - Why infantry
25:11 - Kosovo and 9/11
28:53 - The training accident that made things real
30:57 - Iraq deployment and a humbling first combat experience
37:42 - What happens when you start taking casualties
40:58 - Combat Story - Battle of Fallujah
52:24 - Combat Story - Medal of Honor Event
1:21:43 - Being a leader not a soldier
1:28:39 Generational differences and sharing experiences with his grandfather
1:31:09 - Remember the Ramrods: An Army Brotherhood in War and Peace
1:33:35 - What did you carry into combat?
1:35:47 - Would you do it all again?
1:42:34 - What do you want to be known for in the end?
1:44:10 - Listener comments and shout outs

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I lost my footing right before the landing second landing going up to the
0:04.4	second story and I when I lost my footing I kind of fell and he was right at
0:09.8	that landing and he blew a hole in that wall and right where my head was when he
0:14.7	shot the rifle the blast of his face I saw fear I saw fear in his face and I
0:22.5	was like oh you're scared and dead he's mine I'm gonna take him out welcome to
0:27.5	combat story I'm Ryan Fugid and I serve war zone tours as an army attack
0:31.2	helicopter pilot and CIA officer over a 15-year career I'm fascinated by the
0:36.0	experiences of the elite in combat on this show I interview some of the
0:40.0	best to understand what combat felt like on their front lines this is combat
0:45.0	story today we hear our first ever combat story from a medal of honor
0:50.9	recipient David Belavia David was a squad leader in task force 22 with the
0:55.8	story first infantry division during the brutal second battle of
0:59.3	Fallujah at one point his fellow soldiers were pinned down and David
1:03.7	cleared a building in a way that in his words nine times out of 10 would have
1:08.6	ended up very differently and with him losing his life and this included
1:12.6	hand-to-hand combat with an insurgent David shares so much insight and to have
1:17.9	the military transformed him and gave him some of the most real love he'd ever
1:21.3	experienced with his brothers and arms his second book remember the Ram
1:25.8	Rods an army brotherhood in war and peace just came out it speaks directly to
1:31.2	the bonds that can truly only be forged in combat I highly recommend you
1:35.7	listen all the way through to hear not just the event for which David would
1:39.7	eventually receive the medal of honor but also his response to the question if
	...

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