Cable Gabfest*

So...There I was**... Manning my post as usual last Monday checking the blog to make sure  my post had, in deed, posted.  Seeing the usual suspects had already commented at their usual Oh-dark thirty time frame, I ripped off a few riveting responses, per Sarge's Standing Op Order #1 "Never leave a comment, unanswered".

¡Sí, sí, el sargento de la Fuerza Aérea más antiguo y quisquilloso!

 Having complied, I mosied over to view the "usual suspects" (Sarge refers to them as "Stuff I haven't placed yet" (or ever, most likely) and "Stuff I like to read").  One of my favorites is Proof Positive. 

Well, last Monday, under his usual "Quote Du Jour" section, he had the following quote.

“We don’t want war, but if you want a war with United States of America, there is one thing I can promise you, so help me God: someone else will raise your sons and daughters.” 

This was attributed to Staff Sgt. David G. Bellavia with no further info.

I agreed with the sentiment, but was a bit confused about how/why a Staff Sgt would be quoted. Not that a Staff Sgt, wouldn't think or say that, rather why anybody would have kept a record of it.

So, curiosity piqued, I dialed up 1-800-DuckDuckGo.com (You don't still use Google, do you?) to see what I could see.

Well...

Seems the Staff Sgt, back in November of 2004, was involved in a fight in Iraq that resulted in his being awarded the Silver Star.  For those who may not know, the Silver Star is the Nation's third highest award for Valor, behind the Service Crosses and the Medal of Honor.  It is not given out lightly.

But, Silver Star recipients are not usually quoted.

Turns out when the current President took over, there was a review ordered of all awards for valor with the view to upgrade them if appropriate.

The Army Times describes what his Silver Star was awarded for.

"A squad leader at the time, Bellavia, now 43, was clearing a block of buildings when his platoon was pinned down on Nov. 10, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq.

The first nine buildings were found to be unoccupied, but were filled with rockets, grenade launchers and other weapons. When Bellavia and four others entered the 10th building, they came under fire from insurgents in the house, according to his Silver Star citation.

The ensuing gun battle injured several soldiers. Bellavia switched out his M16 rifle for an M249 SAW gun and entered one room where the insurgents were located to spray it with gunfire, forcing the Jihadists to take cover and allowing the squad to move out into the street.

Other insurgents on the rooftop of the building began firing on his squad below, forcing them to seek cover in a nearby building. Bellavia then went back to the street and called in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle to shell the houses before re-entering the building to assess the scene.

 Upon entering, Bellavia gunned down one insurgent who was loading an RPG launcher. A second enemy fighter began firing as he ran toward the kitchen and Bellavia fired back, wounding him in the shoulder. A third insurgent then began yelling from the second floor.

Bellavia then entered the uncleared master bedroom and emptied gunfire into all the corners, at which point the wounded insurgent entered the room, yelling and firing his weapon, the citation reads. Bellavia fired back, killing the man. Bellavia was then shot at by another insurgent upstairs and the staff sergeant returned the fire, killing him as well.

“At that point, a Jihadist hiding in a wardrobe in a bedroom jumped out, firing wildly around the room and knocking over the wardrobe. As the man leaped over the bed he tripped and Sergeant Bellavia shot him several times, wounding but not killing him,” the citation reads. "Another insurgent was yelling from upstairs, and the wounded Jihadist escaped the bedroom and ran upstairs. Sergeant Bellavia pursued, but slipped on the blood-soaked stairs."

Bellavia followed the bloody tracks of the insurgent up the stairs to a room on his left. Hearing the wounded insurgent inside, he threw a fragmentary grenade into the room, which caused the insurgent to flee to the roof. Two more insurgents began yelling from the third story of the building.Bellavia grabbed the wounded insurgent and put him in a choke hold to keep him from giving away their position.“The wounded Jihadist then bit Sergeant Bellavia on the arm and smacked him in the face with the butt of his AK-47. In the wild scuffle that followed, Sergeant Bellavia took out his knife and slit the Jihadist’s throat,” the Silver Star citation reads. "Two other insurgents who were trying to come to their comrade’s rescue, fired at Bellavia, but he had slipped out of the room, which was now full of smoke and fire."

A final insurgent dropped from the third story to the second-story roof. Bellavia saw the fleeing man and fired at him, hitting him in the back and the legs and causing him to fall off the roof and die.

By this point, five members of the platoon had entered the house and took control of the first floor. Before they would finish off the remaining insurgent fighters, however, they were ordered to move out of the area because close air support had been called in by a nearby unit." (Source)

 Unsurprisingly, the review panel thought the Staff Sergeant's actions warranted an upgrade, and on June 25th, 2019, President Trump awarded him the Medal of Honor.

Staff Sgt Bellavia's complete induction speech can (and should) be read here.  It is much like similar speeches by other recipients, He mentions the actions of others in his unit in the battle, remembers, by name, those who didn't make it and generally downplays his own actions.

But...At the end of his speech, you realize ...

He is a warrior! 


Oh, by the way, since Sarge promised an update.

We have a roof on the house.


Update: Tom in NC asked a question.

Yes, yes it has.

*Cable gabfest... If you don't get it....watch the video....Loved it!)
** SJC