A 2019 recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor–the first given to a living veteran of the Iraq War–David Bellavia is a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant whose experience leading an infantry platoon in Fallujah in November 2004 was the basis of his acclaimed memoir, House to House: A Soldier’s Memoir (Free Press).

Bellavia has also received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Conspicuous Service Cross (New York State’s highest combat valor award) and was inducted into the New York State Veteran’s Hall of Fame. A former vice chairman of Vets for Freedom and a founder of the Warrior Legacy Foundation, he appears frequently on national television discussing military and current affairs.