David Bellavia Biography
David Bellavia is an American former Army Staff Sergeant and politician who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Falluja. He was born on November 10, 1975, and currently lives in Buffalo, NY, U.S.A.
David’s parents were Marilyn and Dr. William D. Bellavia. His father passed away at his home in Clermont, on December 6, 2017, after a courageous battle with cancer. His wife is called Deanna and the couple is blessed with3 children. Besides, he has 3 brothers namely Daniel, Rand, and Timothy. He graduated from Lyndonville High School.
The American veteran will become the first living serviceman to receive the Medal of Honor for his service in the Iraq War. David Bellavia left the Army in 2005 after serving in Iraq. He had maintained a prominent public profile and had powerful Republican political connections, but most had thought that his Silver Star medal was the highest award he would receive.
David Bellavia Age
Bellavia is 44 years as of 2019, he was born on November 10th, 1975, Buffalo, New York, United States. He celebrates his birthday on November 10th every year. Bellavia will be turning 45 years as of on November 10th, 2020.
David Bellavia Wife
Bellavia’s wife is named Deanna King and the duo has 3 children together. The mother of three is a television news reporter who hosts a Rochester Radio 95.1’s The Brother Wease Show and lives with her family in Buffalo New York. She recently tweeted a video of a police escort the Bellavia family received after arriving in the nation’s capital.
David Bellavia Net Worth
David is a Medal of Honor recipient. This makes him eligible for retroactive monthly pension payments stretching back to 2004. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, all Medal of Honor recipients receives a pension starting on the date they formally receive the Medal of Honor, which is currently $1,329.58 per month.
Bellavia has other sources of income which include the book that he co-wrote. His specific benefits cannot be discussed by the VA unless he has signed a privacy waiver. However, Bellavia receives a sum of approximately $2020,000.
David Bellavia Medal Of Honor
The Second Battle of Fallujah was code-named Operation Al-Fajr and Operation Phantom Fury. It happened in November and December 2004 and was a joint American, Iraqi, and British offensive. The battle is considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S. Marines and U.S Army against the Iraqi revolution stronghold in the city of Fallujah. The U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government authorized the battle.
Moreover, the U.S. military called it “some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines and Soldiers have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam back in 1968. Prior to the second battle, coalition forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah earlier in April 2004. The first battle was authorized in order to capture or kill revolution elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team.
Just days into the second battle to retake the key city of Fallujah back from al-Qaida militants, David’s unit was tasked with a pre-dawn mission to clear a block of 12 buildings, a task meant to support other soldiers fighting door-to-door nearby. David Bellavia with some of his colleagues was restrained inside a pitch-black, insurgent-filled house.
Intelligence showed at least six if not more, enemy fighters were holed up in the buildings. David’s squad cleared the first nine structures without incident. But within moments of entering the 10th building, heavy machine gun fire let loose. It was an ambush!
According to Meno, David’s colleague, soldiers were inside trying to take cover. Rounds were coming from inside, and from outside, a window, breaking glass, it was chaos!and almost pitch-black. The Army documents show that one soldier was wounded when a round grazed his face. Two others suffered minor piercings as glass shattered around them.
At that moment of attack, Staff Sergeant David Bellavia took it upon himself to act. He grabbed a heavy M249 automatic machine gun from another soldier and charged forward into the oncoming fire from enemy fighters hidden in a stairwell. He squeezed the belt-fed, automatic weapon’s trigger until it would not fire anymore. The enemy fighters froze, ducking away from David’s fire just long enough for his squad to escape the building and regroup outside.
Moments later, David re-entered the building covered only by Michael Ware, an embedded journalist who followed the soldier into the darkened nightmare of a building. According to his award citation, David Bellavia encountered insurgents loading a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. He rushed forward with his M249, killing the insurgent and wounding another.
Again, the hero moved into a second room, eventually killing the wounded insurgent before moving toward a stairway where another militant was firing at him. After taking out the third enemy fighter, Davis eventually moved up the stairs to the house’s second floor where a fourth fighter was killed with a hand grenade.
A colleague of David’s called Fitts recalled thinking his friend had made a crazy decision. “I did not know he was going to do that. If I had known he was going to do that, I would have asked him not to,” the retired soldier said. “Which is why he is such a hero. Because nobody should be in that position or put themselves in that position, and that’s what sets him apart.”
In the weeks after Bellavia’s actions, Meno and Douglas Walter, their company commander, discussed gathering evidence to submit Bellavia for the Medal of Honor. “This was different than anything I had seen,” Walter, now a colonel, said of his decision to submit his soldier for the nation’s highest military honor.
“It stood out. The more I went through it, the more I was convinced that he had saved the lives of a squad.” That remarkable day, David rescued an entire squad, cleared an insurgent strongpoint, and saved many members of his platoon from an immediate threat.
The Medal of Honor
Bellavia is the first American to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the Iraq War. It was an upgrade of the Silver Star that Bellavia initially received actions that day. He’s the sixth service member to receive the nation’s highest military honor for actions in Iraq.
The medal was represented to Bellavia by the President, Donald Trump, on June 25th, 2019. Trump congratulated him for carrying on the legacy of American valor. He received the medal of honor during an East Room ceremony at the White House. The award meant a career change according to Bellavia.
David Bellavia Book | House to House David Bellavia
In 2007, David Bellavia published a memoir, House to House: An Epic Memoir of War, co-written with John R. Bruning. The book was chosen as one of the top five best Iraq War memoirs by journalist Thomas Ricks in September 2010. In 2012, the U.S. Army veteran signed an agreement with the 2012 Oscar-winning producer Rich Middlemas to make his memoir into a major motion picture.
Currently, David is working on his second book. To get the book, purchase it from online selling platforms like Amazon. In the book, he gave a chilling account of his single-handed storming of a houseful of insurgents in Fallujah on Nov. 10, 2004. The book jacket stated that he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor.
David Bellavia Movie
In 2015, Universal Pictures completed an option on House to House, the memoir of U.S. Army staff sergeant David Bellavia’s chilling experience in the Second Battle Of Fallujah.
The studio, which bought it for Imagine Entertainment, knew just the writer who’d bring a correct understanding of the subject matter. Universal Pictures has set Max Adams to be a thriller vehicle for Vince Vaughn.
Adams also spent 11 years serving his country in the U.S. Army an enlisted M-3 Gustav gunner and team leader in the 1st Ranger Battalion. As a young lieutenant, he led soldiers in combat during the initial ground invasion of the Iraq War. He was discharged in 2006 and just produced the Robert De Niro-starrer Bus 657, and produced and directed the Bruce Willis starrer Precious Cargo.
Brian Grazer has produced the movie, and Rich Middlemas is also attached to produce. In House to House–which David Bellavia wrote with John R. Bruning–Bellavia tells of his experiences leading his blue-collar front line forces into the intense urban combat against zealous insurgents in the Second Battle of Fallujah.
David Bellavia was part of a campaign that took the heavily fortified, booby-trapped city and ultimately earned himself a nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Erica Huggins and Alexandre Dauman oversaw the project with Universal’s Jon Mone and Jay Polidoro. Adams is represented by Paradigm, Zero Gravity’s Eric Williams and attorney Marios Rush. On the other hand, David Bellavia is represented by Hornfischer Literary Management’s Jim Hornfischer and attorney Steve Younger.
David Bellavia Story
The Second Battle of Fallujah was code-named Operation Al-Fajr and Operation Phantom Fury. It happened in November and December 2004 and was a joint American, Iraqi, and British offensive. The battle is considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S. Marines and U.S Army against the Iraqi revolution stronghold in the city of Fallujah. The U.S.-appointed Iraqi Interim Government authorized the battle.
Moreover, the U.S. military called it “some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines and Soldiers have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam back in 1968. Prior to the second battle, coalition forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah earlier in April 2004. The first battle was authorized in order to capture or kill revolution elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team.
Just days into the second battle to retake the key city of Fallujah back from al-Qaida militants, David’s unit was tasked with a pre-dawn mission to clear a block of 12 buildings, a task meant to support other soldiers fighting door-to-door nearby. David Bellavia with some of his colleagues was restrained inside a pitch-black, insurgent-filled house.
Intelligence showed at least six if not more, enemy fighters were holed up in the buildings. David’s squad cleared the first nine structures without incident. But within moments of entering the 10th building, heavy machine gun fire let loose. It was an ambush!
According to Meno, David’s colleague, soldiers were inside trying to take cover. Rounds were coming from inside, and from outside, a window, breaking glass, it was chaos!and almost pitch-black. The Army documents show that one soldier was wounded when a round grazed his face. Two others suffered minor piercings as glass shattered around them.
At that moment of attack, Staff Sergeant David Bellavia took it upon himself to act. He grabbed a heavy M249 automatic machine gun from another soldier and charged forward into the oncoming fire from enemy fighters hidden in a stairwell. He squeezed the belt-fed, automatic weapon’s trigger until it would not fire anymore. The enemy fighters froze, ducking away from David’s fire just long enough for his squad to escape the building and regroup outside.
Moments later, David re-entered the building covered only by Michael Ware, an embedded journalist who followed the soldier into the darkened nightmare of a building. According to his award citation, David Bellavia encountered insurgents loading a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. He rushed forward with his M249, killing the insurgent and wounding another.
Again, the hero moved into a second room, eventually killing the wounded insurgent before moving toward a stairway where another militant was firing at him. After taking out the third enemy fighter, Davis eventually moved up the stairs to the house’s second floor where a fourth fighter was killed with a hand grenade.
A colleague of David’s called Fitts recalled thinking his friend had made a crazy decision. “I did not know he was going to do that. If I had known he was going to do that, I would have asked him not to,” the retired soldier said. “Which is why he is such a hero. Because nobody should be in that position or put themselves in that position, and that’s what sets him apart.”
In the weeks after Bellavia’s actions, Meno and Douglas Walter, their company commander, discussed gathering evidence to submit Bellavia for the Medal of Honor. “This was different than anything I had seen,” Walter, now a colonel, said of his decision to submit his soldier for the nation’s highest military honor.
“It stood out. The more I went through it, the more I was convinced that he had saved the lives of a squad.” That remarkable day, David rescued an entire squad, cleared an insurgent strongpoint, and saved many members of his platoon from an immediate threat.
David Bellavia Speech
David Bellavia Movie
David Bellavia Twitter
Tweets by BellaviaMoh
Frequently Asked Questions About David Bellavia
Who is Bellavia?
David Gregory Bellavia is a former United States Army soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah. In 2005, Bellavia was inducted into the New York Veterans’ Hall of Fame.
Where did Bellavia grow up?
David G. Bellavia was born, Nov. 10, 1975, in Buffalo, New York. The son of a successful dentist and the youngest of four boys, Bellavia grew up in western New York and attended Lyndonville Central High School and Houghton Academy.
What nationality is Bellavia?
David Bellavia was born with the American nationality.
Who is Staff Sergeant David Bellavia?
David G. Bellavia was a squad leader in support of Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, Iraq. Their mission on the night of Nov. 10, 2004, was to clear a block of 12 buildings, where it was thought six or more insurgents had taken shelter.