House to House: A Soldier's Memoir

by David Bellavia, John R. Bruning

THE CLASSIC SOLDIER’S MEMOIR FROM MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT STAFF SERGEANT DAVID BELLAVIA

“A rare and gripping account of frontline combat.”—LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty

“They used to say that the real war will never get in the books. Here it does, stunningly.” —Thomas E. Ricks, author of The American Military Adventure in Iraq and Making the Corps

“To read this book is to know intimately the daily grind and danger of men at war.”—Anthony Swofford, New York Times bestselling author of Jarhead

One of the great heroes of the Iraq War, Staff Sergeant David Bellavia captures the brutal action and raw intensity of leading his Third Platoon, Alpha Company, into a lethally choreographed kill the booby-trapped, explosive-laden houses of Fallujah's militant insurgents. Bringing to searing life the terrifying intimacy of hand-to-hand infantry combat, this stunning war memoir features an indelibly drawn cast of characters, not all of whom would make it out alive, as well as the chilling account of the singular courage that earned Bellavia the Medal of Entering one house alone, he used every weapon at his disposal in the fight of his life against America's most implacable enemy. Bellavia has written an unforgettable story of triumph, tragedy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History, War, Military History, Biography, Memoir

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Staff Sergeant David Bellavia spent six years in the U.S. Army, including some of the most intense fighting of the Iraq War. He has been awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his actions in Iraq, and recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross and Medal of Honor for his actions in Fallujah. In 2005, he received the Conspicuous Service Cross (New York State's highest award for military valor) and was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[MG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before picking up this book (on Kindle) some of the reviews I had read suggested that the language and demeanor of the Author were unrealistic (even "over-the-top"), meant to paint a "Rambo" portrait of him, in some self-glorifying way.

Honestly, that's one of the things that piqued my interest in the book. I downloaded a sample chapter from the Kindle store, and I was hooked after 10 pages. Bellavia writes a gritty, "through genuine eyes" portrait of combat you will never see on the evening news.

While the dialogue may be offensive to gentler ears & eyes, to clain this book is hyped-up bravado is unfair to the guy who was covered in blood, sweat, and sh*t. Until you have actually gone through some of what Bellavia experienced, it's hard to get a full appreciation of the sights, smells, and sounds of combat. Then, throw the house-to-house fighting in Fallujah (2004) into the mix, and it just intensifies the entire experience.

In 2004, I was in Baghdad, removed from the violence of Fallujah, yet in a different war altogether. My brother experienced some of the Battle of Fallujah, and I can only testify to his story, which is similar in scope to Bellavia's.

Fighting in Fallujah is remarkably similar to accounts of fighting in Stalingrad during the Second World War. House to house, heavily fortified and dug in insurgents wrecking havoc left and right.

Bellavia's account is nothing less than what it professes to be, one Soldier's story of his experiences in combat in one one of the most pivotal battles in the Global War on Terror.

UPDATE (JULY 2010): Through a mutual friend of mine and the authors, he was kind enough to personalize two hardcover copies for me (one for me, an Iraq/Afghan war vet, and my Dad, a Vietnam war vet). An amazing gentleman, in the truest sense.

[Nicko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. War is hell. Words escape me.

"America is not at war, The Army is at war; the Marine Corps is jammed up at the gates; and America is at the mall."

[William2]

Quite good descriptions of fighting before and during Fallujah Iraq offensive of 11-10-2004. Hard to fathom these methodical killers though it's interesting to watch them prepare. The whole concept of command and control is key. So patient, so focused as they mow the enemy down. Thank God they're out there. Here's to hoping that one day their sacrifices will no longer be needed. (Yeah, right!)

The book's only downside is the fraudulent romantic machismo the author invokes to motivate himself. "Combat distilled to its purest human form is a test of manhood." (p. 112) Oh really? Ernst Jünger—see his Storm of Steel—would have been an excellent model for the author; his writing never devolves to sentimentality. That said, if strangers were out to gun me down I suppose I'd employ every trick in the book to survive. There are no clichés on the front lines. Hooah!

[Book Clubbed · Rating 2 out of 5]

A visceral, harrowing account of the battle of Fallujah. Mr. Bellavia clearly had a movie adaptation in mind, or else he views his own actions through the prism of a movie formula: meet the soldiers, extended battle scenes, and an outro to describe what happened to everyone.
There is something appealing, in a lizard-brain, Neanderthal-survival-instinct manner in reading about the gritty horror of war, all with the evil vs. good backdrop. The details are intense and the frenetic writing style does match the battles they find themselves caught in.
As I read this, I started to consider how books like these, which position the American supersoldier as the key actor in foreign wars, appeal to both the antiwar and pro-solider crowds. They satisfy a base instinct and provide material both for critique and affirmation for American supremacy.
To hear my full thoughts on this dynamic, listen to the episode here: https://bookclubbed.buzzsprout.com/15...

[Theresa Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest war memoirs ever written. Shares the truth of the battlefield. How men get the "diarrhea slicks" because of the stress of urban warfare. Toward the end of the book he shares a story about when he is fighting for his life, a much taller, older Afghani solider, in flip-flops. They fight for minutes, which drag on like hours. After he has basically killed his opponent and David is weeping in exhaustion, and they are draped over each other, in the last part of hand-to-hand combat, the other man strokes the cheek of the much younger American, who was the more able opponent. As he is dying. "He was forgiving me," David Bellavia writes. I swear that image... I cried.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son-in-law wrote this book. It is a compelling read about a topic I usually shy away from.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for House to House: An Epic Memoir of War, a no-nonsense, unvarnished account of war at the Army squad level in Fallujah, 2004. Bellavia tells it good and bad, he doesn't pull any punches on how raw, dirty, horrific, primeval, ugly combat really is. This is not a book for the weak stomach. If you want to have an inkling of what infantry combat was like in Iraq, this is the book. Also quite sad to think the bravery and blood in this fight was for naught as we left Iraq before the job was done.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once in a while I pick up one of the memoirs (mostly war) to read. This was a good read about brave men and women who served our country. At the same time it reminds me of how lucky I am to live in America.
The ending gets very emotional. When Staff Sergeant David Bellavia went back afterwards just made me cry. I don't know or could comprehend what they go through but I thank them for things they do.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a bit to put the words together in my head what I wanted to say in my review of House to House. I absolutely loved it, that was never a question. My confusion was how to convey how much I loved it and what a book like this means to me. House to House is the memoir of David Bellavia's time as a soldier in Iraq and in particular his and his unit's experiences in the second Battle of Fallujah, which took place in November of 2004 and was arguably the bloodiest battle in the Iraq war.

The Army was in the Battle of Fallujah! I honestly didn't even know that prior to reading this book. The tiniest bit that I've read on the battle was in the main stream news, and of the information I've seen on it in the past it is all about the US Marines' involvement in the battle. As a matter of fact I didn't know a fraction of the information about the Iraq war that was provided in this book. Laid out in a manner that is in your face and impossible to ignore, David Bellavia tells us what it is like for a soldier to be in the middle of battle and you feel every word of it.

I don't pretend to know what it's like for a soldier in the middle of a war because I've read a book or in particular this book. I know this book wasn't written for SSG Bellavia to thump his chest and show the world he is "the man". I especially know this wasn't written for the American people to show pity or feel sorry for our soldiers. This was written to open the eyes of the reader to see what it takes to be a soldier in the US Army infantry and the values that these men hold dear. Their cause is just, they go off to war to serve their country. But what they are truly fighting for is the man on their left side and the man on their right side who has become their brother. This point was gotten through to me crystal clear.

Not once did I get the impression that David Bellevia was showing off, or blasting his own horn, as after this battle he would have every right to do. He constantly told how proud he was of his men, how honored he was to serve with Fitts, Faulkenburg, Iwan, Simms, Cantrell and on several different occasions indicating how other soldiers both his subordinates and his superiors were his heros. In fact, the amount of modesty in this man astounded me. He was recommended to receive the Medal of Honor for events that took place in this book. But in SSG Bell's description of these events he is not bragging but almost criticizing himself for how he handled himself. At no point in this book did he mention any of his awards that he's received as a soldier. Which include a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. This book wasn't written for others to recognize him as a hero, but for us to recognize his fellow soldiers and what they've endured, proven and sacrificed.

House to House is written in a crude in-your-face manner, which is sure to grab anyone's attention. This is definitely not for the faint or delicate of heart as just about every other word is referring to some kind of violent act, killer weapon or an f-bomb (which is part of the reason I loved it so much, it was real dialogue). I would and have recommended this to anyone interested in reading a story of true life military heroism at it's most horrifically described.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listed this on my "Action" shelf though that's not the primary reason for reading it.

Combat is nasty, dirty, "uncomfortable", dangerous and in general not appreciated by the general public. America's soldiers have acquitted themselves with courage throughout our history. I think veterans may get something more from this than non-veterans but it's a look inside urban combat for anyone who will read it. I don't know if any veterans of WWI are still alive, they'd have to be well over 100. There are however still those who fought in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and of course the conflicts that have taken place and are taking place in the Middle East. There are also those who've gone to war in places they can't talk about...places where we never officially were. But getting killed in a covert operation is no less dead.

The men you'll meet here are infantry, the backbone of the military. Don't sneer at the soldiers who wear infantry blue. The infantry are the front line, the mud slogger, grunts, they get the nasty jobs where people don't come home the same as all American soldiers.

Recommended.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an Army NCO infantryman's account of some of his experiences in Iraq in 2004 and particularly about his platoon's part in the battle of Fallujah. The author does not pull any punches. He tells of his and his squad's experiences in war in all it's gory, disgusting, and savage specifics. This is not the sanitized version you see on tv; this is how the actions really unfold from the pure joy in killing another human being to the nonstop diarrhea to the lengths one must go in hand to hand combat to the death. The author is also honest on his personal shortcomings which is refreshing. This is a must read for aspiring infantrymen to see what it is really like. With it being written by a NCO infantryman comes the standard prejudices: everyone that is not an enlisted infantryman is below him and basically a pussy (although he softens on this stance to figure out that having the tank guys around at least is a welcome help), the officer corps is complete crap and they are not real soldiers (he softens on this in some moments later on in the book), etc. This is not a book about overall military strategy or about whole brigades or battles. This is a intimate look at this sergeant's squad level experiences, a little bit on squad level tactics, and what being an infantryman in this day and age entails. In that respect, this book shines brilliantly in its no holds barred honesty. 4.5 stars.

[Peter Martuneac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I read a different book than others have. Bellavia writes well and endured terrible hardships in Fallujah, let’s get that right. But his accounting of the battle was juvenile and felt like he was just hyping himself and his squad up. I can’t tell you how many times in the book he takes shots at the Marines in this battle, calling into question their capabilities and effectiveness. It seemed to me like he was using his status as a decorated veteran of the battle as a platform purely to lob insults at a rival military branch and to build himself up.

And that decoration is also what sticks out to me. Again I want to stress that I’m not questioning his bravery. I do however question the actions that got him his medal. He admits in the book to having felt inadequate following his first taste of combat in the city (can’t remember exactly why, I think he hesitated to fire and felt like less of a man). The next day, he and another squad mate are to attempt to clear a house that’s firing on their squad’s position. His buddy tells Bellavia to wait until he can retrieve the shotgun.

But Bellavia feels like he has to prove his manhood and clears the house by himself, an *incredibly* stupid choice. There was no reason NOT to wait for his squad mate to return. His actions feel more like a desperate gambit for a cool war story than a fight for life like other recipients of the Medal of Honor. A situation into which he thrust himself rather than one in which he had no choice.

If you’re looking for a hero from the Second Battle of Fallujah, may I suggest looking up to Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal. When Marines became trapped in a building, he grabbed a squad of Marines and assaulted the structure. He not only cleared the house of enemy insurgents, fighting with a pistol and KA-BAR, but was shot 7 times and used his body to shield a wounded Marine from grenade shrapnel. He then refused any medical attention until the other Marines were seen to. As a 1st Sergeant he was under no obligation to charge into direct combat but he did so anyway. Now *that’s* a hero.

[Kris Roedig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am very VERY appreciative of our armed forces. They do things for their country that I absolutely never could. They go through hardships and trauma very few of us could even fathom.

However, this book is 90% machismo and 10% introspection upon the entirety of nearly everything else. Staff Sergeant David Bellavia went through hell and back and was one who lived to tell the tale. A lot of people, his comrades and friends didn’t make it back in one piece or at all. I would have loved to hear perhaps why each soldier chose the army…or what kind of family they have back home. Instead, this book is all about episodic adventures Bellavia had. One can tell that co-author John Bruning played a giant part in punching-up Bellavia’s stories.

The final battle as it were is where the true “I am the baddest mofo on the planet” gusto got under my skin. Both parties were fighting for their country and core beliefs, but because Bellavia believes in the “one true god” then he’s the better person. It was all heavy handed and very dude-bro throughout. He even kicks himself for missing out on important steps in his son’s upbringing—because he chose to go back and fight. It was ludicrous reasoning and the reader/listener is supposed to empathize with him? Nope.

The attempted humor fell flat; both in narration and apparently in person at the time since there were more than a couple of occasions where a joke was made and the author admits nobody laughed.

True military stories are important. They teach us what regular news coverage often doesn’t or can’t. But humility is also important. No matter what you did, you didn’t do it alone and you aren’t the greatest human to walk the earth. It was very much a team effort. And his ridicule of the marines as if they were sitting in a corner doing nothing is laughable.

If you’re a hardcore army fanatic, this book is for you. Obviously I’m not one of those.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focused mainly on the U.S.–Iraqi offensive of November 2004, including a lengthy detailed hand-to-hand denouement, this is a compelling modern war memoir. The author details the techniques and tactics (including insurgents made nearly unstoppable by epinephrine and other drugs) in a narrative story that works in the very human interior experience. The depth of this reflection surfaces rage and panic, faith and fear, missteps and hallucinations. With a second life as a journalist embed, a lengthy epilogue covers the cost to family life and a decision to turn from warrior to father-husband.

[Anna Erishkigal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puts you into the firefight unlike any story I have ever read...

This is a MEMOIR, told in the first-person to the best of the storyteller's recollection, helped along by a ghost-writer who put the story into a narrative-enough form to make it understandable for a non-military audience who has never been 'over there.' It put you right into the middle of the action, starting far enough back with a lesser-battle to help you get a feel for Sergeant Bellavia and the other soldiers who worked with him, and then moves you forward right to the battle of Fallujah.

I've read many war memoirs, WWII, Vietnam, and a few more recent books, but this is the only one which put me into an ARMY INFANTRY unit. Usually you hear about Special Forces, or fighter pilots, or snipers, because the public perceives those fights to be sexier. Meanwhile the infantry is fighting house-to-house, hand-to-hand, in the most dangerous and filthy and intimate way possible. This book raised many questions (such as, why didn't our military powers-that-be just turn Fallujah into glass if the civilian population had fled, or place a higher value on a mosque-used-to-store-weapons than a soldier's life?). No matter WHAT your feelings about the war, this memoir raised my appreciation for what our soldiers go through.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the person David Bellavia portrays himself as in this book is not always likeable, (too Duke Nukem, too Universal Soldier, too hardcore, pumped-up-gung-ho-HOOAH!) it is still an absorbing insight into the house by house style warfare engaged in the Iraq War, 2004, Fallujah.
The book is a good read, I won't take that away from it, but I did drop a star because I couldn't always stand Bellavia's agro junkie attitude.
I did feel, however, that after his 'incident' alone in the house in Fallujah, he matured and calmed down a bit. Had himself a reality check.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hard look at the ground war in Iraq by an Army veteran. It becomes a tale of vengeance, broken promises, hate, and eventually redemption. Very excellently done.

[Tuomas Lähteenmäki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was looking for something totally different. This was a certified dude bro book which played out like a M. Bay movie.

[Tiffany Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

**There is a glossary at the end! Wish I knew this before reading!**
This book was so interesting yet so different from all the other war books I've read. I find it incredible that the author can detail kills made without a visible threat. In other, more recent, war stories the authors have talked about all the red tape and how they have to document every single kill. Anything unprovoked would lead to an investigation. It seemed to be the opposite philosophy in the Iraqi war - that they should kill anything that moves.
I was so surprised that the author admits how he constantly questions himself in battle and beats himself up for what he considers poor decisions. He is so brutally honest and yet funny to break up the tension.
I loved how he took the time to focus on each man that he was working with to explain the sacrifice they were making for their country.
I have to look up and see if this author has written anything since 2007 when this book was published. He was so plagued by sadness and grief and I would love to know whether he ever got his life back on track and started living in the present.
This was such a great read. I totally recommend it if you can handle gruesome details. I think it's important to read these types of stories so we are educated about how some of our men and women are really doing fighting for our freedoms.

[Craig Fiebig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying, enlightening, horrifying, worrisome. Bellavia's book evokes every possible gut-wrenching, mind-numbing emotion possible. I cannot believe what it takes for someone to serve in the infantry, to serve one another ... and us, our country. I've read enough history to trip over most poetic descriptions evoked by men in the desperate struggle of combat. SSgt Bellavia's is among the best: "This is the infantry. War's a bitch. Wear a Helmet."

WARNING: This writing is too gruesome for anyone with an average familiarity with squeamishness. The graphic detail was hard to read for one whose work risks, using that word advisedly, paper cuts and getting yelled at.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir of house to house fighting during the first two days of the Fallujah assault, albeit written by a wannabe tough guy who delights in telling his readers just how wracked by emotion and self doubt he is. If you can get past the author's annoying writing style (and where the hell was his co-author on that??), there's some useful stuff here on the character of modern urban assault and doctrinal flexibility.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like it's more patting on the back than non fictional.. a little beefed up maybe? Not bashing, I'm a veteran as well..

[Zac · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is this mans account of fighting hand to hand with the enemy is as real as it gets.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this in the audible format. Ray Porter was the narrator and he has that great Tom Hanks type of voice (or Tom has a little bit of a Ray Porter voice :-), anyway, he did a great job. But… I still didn’t swallow the whole story. It started out a 4, then I actually gave it a 3, then I felt guilty and upped it to 4 again, because it is about a war hero, written by the war hero. What’re ya gonna do?

My major complaint is that I think he exaggerated his thoughts of the time… adding things over the two years, or whatever it was before he started writing, or as he wrote. Embellishing his thoughts and the details (what he later decided were the appropriate thoughts), and then pretending those were his actual thoughts during the action. He said he doesn’t dream about the events and war, but he thinks about them every day. I bet he does! But what he wrote, “I moved my foot…” I thought this long thought, “I spit blood and mucus…” and I thought this other long thought, and step by step throughout the book and all of the battles, every turn, every action… he adds in all these castigations, self recriminations, all of the memories. Nope, I don’t buy it. Panic, delirium, confusion, rage, second-guessing… yes. Constantly thinking about all of this other stuff in detail, especially at the height of extreme situations and physically fighting, supposedly remembering all of these mental tangents and stuff, nope. You know what it reminds me of? Coloring. Remember when felt pens came out and you were used to the big 72 Crayola crayon box, and then suddenly they’re selling psychedelic felt pens? Nothing looks real anymore when you’re only coloring with those brilliant and fluorescent colors.

Everything else is pretty dramatic and probably mostly legit. I’m not a fan of him personally after listening, but I think most of us are probably not combat veterans and we’re used to not expressing what someone else might find fault with, or outside of our little groups. All of his fellow soldiers seem to have had their moments of heroism and some did a few dumb things… He had his moments of stupidity and insanity. He’s got this officer who was always screaming at him in different situations on the radio and I know that there must be some code word for “STFU your loud voice is going to get me killed”. That bit about meeting the Danger 6 (General) was sure terrible, but we’ve heard that kind of thing before. At least the whole book wasn’t full of equipment that was broken or substandard, leadership mistakes, and dead babies, like everybody else’s book, oh and apparently we can’t trust dogs not to eat us when we’re dead.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Staff Sergeant Bellavia's recounting of some of his experiences while he was in Iraq in 2004. Most of the book is concerned with the Battle of Fallujah, though some of the first few pages is about the days leading up to the battle. Staff Sergeant Bellavia writes clearly and concisely about his Infantry platoon and what they did, and how dangerous their tasks were from moment to moment. He writes about the many different types of weapons they used, and what situations called for which weapons. I would have liked to had more description on these because some of them I genuinely did not know what they were. He did provide a glossary in the back that defined some of the military terms but a few things were missing.

I did like the story and found it especially compelling reading. Some of it was unintentionally funny and some of it was sad but a lot of it was harrowing and would definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. The other thing that I had a complaint about was a technical detail that kept popping up every now and again. He kept mentioning Navy Medics but then saying "Marine [Corps] doctors." The Marines don't have doctors, the Navy does. It was just a trivial detail but it was annoying because it kept popping up. (I know this because I was in the Navy for 10 years and was a Hospital Corpsman). Anyway I liked this book and am giving it 4 stars for a tight, engaging read about the Battle of Fallujah.

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced personal account of a couple parts of the Iraq War, including Fallujah. The author, an Army infantryman, jumps right into the narrative and wastes little time with backstory. I appreciated the very raw account with a straightforward description of events. I felt like it gave me a decent feel for what it was like (that is, as good a perspective as one can get from reading rather than actually experiencing it). Of course, this also means there was a lot of profanity which I didn't care for, but I also recognize that it's an accurate depiction of the event. The book focuses on just a few days of the battle.

[Erik André · Rating 5 out of 5]

En unik opplevelse. Boka gir et perspektiv på krig og særlig strid i bebygget område fra bakkenivå, og kor fette vanskelig det e. Den teknologiske og konvensjonelle overlegenheten reduseres og det bi en kamp om vilje.

De amerikanske soldatan e i knallharde forhold mot en motivert motstander som har befesta seg i byen. Heile bygninge e gjort om tel bombe. Opprøreran i Fallujah e proppa full av epinefrin og adrenalin - angel dust - og sjøl om de bi skutt fleira gang slåss de videre. E e overraska over at nesten heile den amerikanske bataljonen har diarre, skuddsår, infeksjona osv men likevel fortsatt å sloss. Det viktigste i livet bi redusert tel kameraten på sia av d, mat, vann, ammo, snus og sigg. Man bi altså kjent med både de mest grusomme og heroiske sidan av menneske.

Kort sagt ein heilt fantastisk, grusom, spennende og lettlest bok om kampen om Fallujah, i krigen i Irak, sett fra perspektivet til en ekstremt modig sersjant.

[Mark Voreis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. I didn’t know until after reading it that he was awarded the CMOH in 2019 by President Trump either for his actions in Fallujah… this is a must read to help understand the war on terror.

[Abdullah Almuslem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well… this sounded like a Rambo movie.. These guys thought war is a game.. The story is also possibly over dramatized…

“Killing Bad Guys” is a very ridicules phrase used by the author in the book… Maybe you are a Bad Guy as Well ! Strange how words and concepts can be twisted in such a complex conflict ! The author makes the confession of doing horrible things in Iraq.. things according to him that are unforgivable by God ! Anyway, This should suffices as a review ..

The book got my attention while reading it, but I will not recommend it

[JulS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Powerful. If you want to better understand the Iraq war, take a deep breath and dig in. It is very heavy and there’s so much bravery and brutality and I had complicated thoughts and emotions. Words fail me but I recommend.