In the second of our Memorial Day interviews, David Bellavia demonstrates some of the ferocity that allowed him to survive Fallujah and to help launch Vets for Freedom. The author of House to House talks about the war but focuses more on how the war has played back home. Rob “NZ Bear” Neppell and I talk at length with David about his book, the war, and how frustrating he found the media coverage when he returned home from Iraq:

David is a great interview subject; his passion and his energy makes it easy, and the toughest part is keeping up with him. His book is a truthful and frightening look into the horrors of combat, and should be required reading for all Americans, regardless of whether one supports the effort in Iraq. My wife bought me my copy of the book because I had been dragging my heels in getting it — I hardly have any time to read books these days — and I’m glad she did.

Two months ago, David visited the Twin Cities on the Vets for Freedom tour, which made headlines when a local high school refused to let them speak. I caught up with VFF at the Fort Snelling Officers Club and pushed my way into an overflow crowd to take this video of David’s speech. I was in the back on full zoom, which accounts for the poor video quality, but the sound is just fine:

I hope we can get David onto our show at some point. He’s running for Congress, and we can talk about what prompted that decision as well as getting more of his perspective on the developments in Iraq. Meantime, anyone who hasn’t bought the book can easily do so.