House to House

An Epic Memoir of War

David Bellavia, John Bruning

• Publisher: Free Press
• Year: 2007
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781416571841
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

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 Fiasco: 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

Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant David Bellavia delivers a gripping account of the Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War, capturing the brutal intensity of infantry warfare, hand-to-hand combat, battlefield courage, brotherhood, sacrifice, and the resilience of the human spirit.

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 zone: the booby-trapped, explosive-laden houses of Fallujah's militant insurgents. Bringing to searing life the terrifying intimacy of frontline 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 Honor: 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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Author’s Note
• Prologue: The Coffins of Muqdadiyah
• Chapter 1: In the Shit
• Chapter 2: Beyond Redemption
• Chapter 3: The Measure of a Man
• Chapter 4: Land Rush
• Chapter 5: Machines of Loving Grace
• Chapter 6: The First Angel
• Chapter 7: Battle Madness
• Chapter 8: Doorways
• Chapter 9: Dorothy’s Oz Gate
• Chapter 10: Shadows and Wraiths
• Chapter 11: Rooftop Alamo
• Chapter 12: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Cock
• Chapter 13: Where Feral Dogs Feed
• Chapter 14: Better Homes and Gardens
• Chapter 15: “The Power of Christ Compels You”
• Chapter 16: The Failed Test of Manhood
• Chapter 17: A Soldier’s Prayer
• Chapter 18: Man-to-Man
• Chapter 19: Blood Oath
• Chapter 20: The Last Caress
• Chapter 21: A Smoke on Borrowed Time
• Chapter 22: Nut to Butt in Body Bags
• Epilogue: Broken Promises
• Afterword
• Photographs
• Appendix
• Brief Glossary of Terms
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Copyright