Posted on 06/10/2019 9:45:37 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
Decorated Iraq War Veteran and WBEN talk show host David Bellavia will be awarded with the Medal of Honor.
Bellavia will receive the Medal of Honor on June 25 in a ceremony at the White House.
Bellavia is already a highly decorated veteran and was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross.
Bellavia enlisted in the Army in July 1999 and deployed to Iraq after serving in Kosovo.
His perspective on war and battle is highly unique and personal.
“There’s so much love on the battlefield, and you really do care”, says Bellavia. “You care for your hometown, you care for your country, you care for your friends, but that’s something that separates us from all the other enemies we fight...we love what we do and we love who we are protecting”, adds Bellavia.
Bellavia is humble about his efforts during the war, saying, “If anyone was standing with my vantage point they would have done the exact same thing”. “To me, it gives a lot of credibility to our unit...this award is our award”, adds Bellavia.
His actions in Fallujah were first documented in the November 22, 2004 Time magazine cover story, "Into the Hot Zone", by journalist Michael Ware, who was attached with Bellavia's unit during the fight.
After serving for six years, Bellavia left the service with the rank of Staff Sergeant in 2005.
Bellavia’s perspective on his military service, and service in general, is unique and pure. “My life is better because of my service”, he says.
Since his active military service, Bellavia has authored a book, “House to House: An Epic Memoir of War” and has become a popular radio talk show host alongside Tom Bauerle on WBEN. "Bauerle & Bellavia" airs weekdays 3pm to 6pm on NewsRadio 930 WBEN.
I live in southern Ontario and WBEN is the only station I will have on. I like David Bellavia, but I wouldn’t give you two cents for Baurle. I couldn’t turn the radio off fast enough when it was Baurle alone, even though I happened to agree with most of his opinions.
Patriotic paesano and Great American.
Cool.
Outstanding, Soldier.
Agree.
His shows have become a means to elicit advice about his personal life.
Gotta love how he references his astronomical IQ but never states what it is.
He also did something on air without any self-reflection which I found appalling.
He apparently did a show where he talked about Pearl Harbor.
A listener sent him an original copy of a newspaper about the attack.
Baurle opened the show and happily proclaimed someone sent him the newspaper and he just sold it on ebay.
It was heartless and done without any consideration to the person who sent him the newspaper.
If I was the one who sent the newspaper, my heart would have been crushed.
Baurle had no awareness of what a jerk he was.
I was very tempted to contact the station a couple of times because of Bauerle and his rude comments. He perceives himself as being funny. I have news for him - he’s an obnoxious, self-absorbed jackass. He made a “joke” about something one day that I couldn’t believe he was saying what he was saying....but he was. Stunning. Awhile back he was talking about syndicating and going national. I haven’t heard that for awhile. The fact that Bauerle is popular in Buffalo does NOT say much about Buffalo. Sorry to say.
....and selling the newspaper and thinking he was smart doing so shows his complete lack of class as well. I would have been furious and very hurt, had I taken the time and trouble to send him the paper. No matter - it’s all about Bauerle. He’s so full of himself.
Baurle made a joke and the guest shot back, 'Can you be serious for a minute?'
He shut-up for awhile.
I don't believe he's that popular. He has a dedicated fan base that calls in and showers him with praise.
I believe he uses them as proof of his popularity to management.
Glad someone put him in his place. Undoubtedly it would only be temporary. I never used to hear him much because I’d tune in to Rush just before noon. Bauerle used to be on from 9 to noon, so I’d only catch a minute or two of him. Awhile back they switched Sandy Beach (who I think is pretty darn cute) from the afternoon to the morning and put Bauerle on at 3, right after Rush. If I left the radio on, I’d hear him more, plus I wanted to hear what Bellavia was like. I can’t help but wonder what Bellavia REALLY thinks of Bauerle.
In my opinion, SSG Bellavia should have been awarded the Medal of Honor long ago. I think that the delay was because of two issues.
First, the Defense Department implemented a set of reviews that probably established higher standards than those in existence for prior conflicts These reviews were done by panels that included active military personnel, former and retired military, and DoD civilians. One result was that until recently, all awards of the Medal of Honor were posthumous. That situation no longer exists and several earlier awards have been upgraded from a Silver Star or Distinguished Service Cross (Navy Cross)to the Medal of Honor. This is the case with SSG Bellavia.
Second, Bellavia became a public figure, visiting Iraq as a journalist, writing a book, founding a veterans organization, entering into the political arena, and hosting a talk radio show. I believe that some senior officials in the Defense Department did not like that situation.
This man deserves the award that he will receive later this month and it’s way overdue. I point in the direction of bureaucrats who have never heard a shot fired in anger and who have treated this recommendation like a Supreme Court case that must be proved beyond a doubt and that was subject to infinite second guessing on how soldiers in intense combat make decisions.
As far as his radio persona, I agree, he can be pretty abrasive, definitely no my cup of tea. But that's the schtick he earns his paycheck with.
Sgt. Bellavia served with the US Army’s 1st. Infantry Division. I read his autobiography. What he did was simply amazing and heroic. It speaks to the best and toughest spirit of the American soldier. He cleared out a house full of jihadi dirt bags-single handed. In the end he was engaged in a savage, hand to hand fight with one dirt bag he literally beat to death with his bare hands and a Gerber knife.
I know what I heard him say and I remember it because I considered it totally obnoxious (to brag about selling a gift someone gave you). He rifted on it for about 4 or 5 minutes.
If he was joking about it I didn't hear him say so as I turned it off.
If you ever run into him, casually ask him about the Pearl Harbor newspaper he sold on ebay and then let me know if he was joking.
If it was a true story it was heartless and cruel to the man who sent him the newspaper.
If he was listening I can only imagine how the man felt hearing Beurle tell the story.
I certainly will. I will most likely run into him at least a few times this summer. I do know he has a lot of political enemies who like to troll and provoke him in various ways, and he likes to give it right back to them, I’m wondering if this story might be related to something in that regard. Seriously, you wouldn’t believe some of the BS he’s had done to him over the years, he’s even successfully sued a couple of them. He doesn’t talk much about it on the radio as he doesn’t want to acknowledge them.
Bellavia was on the 12/31/2025 Jesse Watters show. He talked about Biden’s similarity to Hamlet (unable to make up his mind).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
