{"id":41824,"date":"2019-06-24T20:41:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T20:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/24\/inside-the-nightmare-of-a-house-that-created-the-iraq-wars-first-living-medal-of-honor\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:33:31","slug":"inside-the-nightmare-of-a-house-that-created-the-iraq-wars-first-living-medal-of-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/06\/24\/inside-the-nightmare-of-a-house-that-created-the-iraq-wars-first-living-medal-of-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the \u201cnightmare of a house\u201d that created the Iraq War\u2019s first living Medal of Honor recipient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was early 2005 when a company commander recently returned from an Iraq deployment put one of his squad leaders in for the military\u2019s highest valor award<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, President Trump will hang that Medal of Honor<\/a> around the neck of former Staff Sgt. David Bellavia<\/a> in a ceremony at the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs awkward as this process is to be singled out, I just want to say how absolutely grateful I am that attention can be given to the men and women of [2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division], what we accomplished in that year,\u201d Bellavia, 44, told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally awarded the Silver Star, Bellavia is credited with almost single-handedly clearing a nest of insurgents in the dead of night during the second Battle of Fallujah, in November 2004. It would make him the sixth service member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq, and the first to survive them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEssentially, to protect the platoon and members of his squad, David Bellavia had to go back into a darkened nightmare of a house.\u201d said journalist Michael Ware, who had embedded with Bellavia\u2019s unit as a Time Magazine correspondent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platoon had been clearing a block of houses the night of Nov. 10, coming under fire when they reached the tenth. From a barricaded position under the stairwell, the insurgents fired on them with belt-fed weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The men fell back, calling in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle to help out. But the combatants had rocket-propelled grenades inside, so Bellavia decided to not wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe knew those guys were in there,\u201d Ware said of the five or six insurgents holed up inside. \u201cWe\u2019d been tracking them all night.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He killed five combatants in all, slitting the throat of one after going hand-to-hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn paper, it seemed like a really good idea,\u201d he said. \u201cJust had to react to the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Col. Douglas Walter, then a captain, thought those actions made Bellavia a great candidate for the Medal of Honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That deployment saw \u201cmany acts of bravery and valor, but obviously, this was a little bit something different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the powers that be decided to award Bellavia a Silver Star, the third-highest valor award, instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInitially, we weren\u2019t really sure what happened,\u201d Walter said. \u201cI always felt there was the opportunity to have it re-looked at and reevaluated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That reevaluation came with a Defense Department-wide review of Global War on Terror valor awards, launched in 2016. Just over 100 awards saw upgrades, including more than a dozen Distinguished Service Crosses this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have no idea,\u201d Bellavia said, when asked whether he ever learned about the reasoning behind his original award. “And a Silver Star is an incredible honor in and of itself. Honestly, I\u2019ve always considered my award being able to come home.<\/p>\n\n\n\t