David Bellavia signing new book at Barnes & Noble

Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Dec. 15—Congressional Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia will sign copies of his new book, "Remember the Ramrods," at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at the Clarence Mall, 4401 Transit Road, at 7 p.m. tonight

Bellavia's book details the history of his Army unit in Iraq, where life took them after they returned home from war, and how reuniting for Bellavia's medal presentation helped heal some of their still-present, if less visible wounds of war.

In 2004, the infantry battalion known as the Ramrods — 2nd Battalion 2nd infantry regiment, 1st Infantry Division — fought and helped win the Battle of Fallujah, the bloodiest episode of the Iraq War. On Nov. 10, 2004, Bellavia single-handedly cleared a fortified enemy position that had pinned down a squad from his platoon. Fourteen years later, Bellavia was awarded a Medal of Honor, America's highest award for bravery in combat, and was invited to a ceremony at the White House.

The news was not welcomed by Bellavia, who had put the war behind him, created a quiet life for himself in rural Western New York, and lost touch with most of his fellow Ramrods. Their first gathering as a unit after the war was at the medal ceremony in Washington. As they revisited what they had seen and done in battle and revealed to each other their journeys back into civilian life, they discovered that the bonds had not been broken by time. A decoration for one became a healing event for all.

Bellavia served in three military campaigns, Kosovo 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom I and Operation Iraqi Freedom II, and returned to Iraq as an embedded reporter covering heavy fighting in 2006 and 2008. In 2007 he wrote and published his first book, House to House, detailing his experiences in Fallujah. He is the Iraq War's only living Medal of Honor recipient.

Bellavia is a 1994 graduate of Lyndonville High School and studied biology and theater at the University of Buffalo. He's now a radio presenter and public speaker nationwide.

Admission to the book signing is free and open to the public. Local bookstores have limited supplies of "Remember the Ramrods" and copies are being sold only on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Duty 1st LLC, Bellavia's promotion company.