Earlier this week, a clip of Medal of Honor recipient retired Staff Sgt. David G. Bellavia speaking in June about our nation’s enemies and American strength went viral in light of the current heightened tensions with Iran.
As he was inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes in June, Bellavia warned that “threats against the U.S. such as North Korea, Iran, and al Qaeda aren’t going anywhere, and cautioned against starting a war again the U.S. if they don’t want someone else to raise their children,” Military Times reported at the time.
“The threats to our nation, they don’t sleep,” said Bellavia. “They’re watching our every move: Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, ISIS, al Qaeda — they may be watching this right now.”
“Our military should not be mistaken for a cable news gabfest show,” he continued. “We don’t care what you look, we don’t care who you voted for, who you worship, what you worship, who you love. It doesn’t matter if your dad left you millions when he died or if you knew who your father was. We have been honed into a machine of lethal moving parts you would be wise to avoid if you knew what’s good for you.”
“We will not be intimidated,” Bellavia warned. “We will not back down. We’ve seen war.”
“We don’t want war, but if you want a war with the United States of America, there is one thing I can promise you, so help me God: Someone else will raise your sons and daughters,” the Medal of Honor receipted concluded.
The clip, only a portion of Mr. Bellavia’s remarks, was posted online Monday and has since racked up well over 4.5 million views.
Bellavia is one of seven Operation Iraqi Freedom Medals of Honor recipient — the first of whom is still alive.
“It was his actions during Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah that earned him the nomination,” TIME magazine said of Bellavia. “He and his squad were dispatched to search a block of 12 houses where multiple insurgents were reportedly hiding. The squad found nothing in the first nine houses but once they got to the 10th, they were ambushed. Two insurgents armed with machine guns were waiting for them.”
“As some of his men suffered injuries, Bellavia provided suppressing fire, forcing the enemies to take cover. This allowed the soldiers to make their way out of the building,” the magazine continued, adding: “After calling in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle to provide suppressing fire, Bellavia decided to go back in the building, where throughout the house, killed four insurgents and wounded a fifth. One of them was in hand-to-hand combat.”
Trump praised Bellavia for his “extraordinary courage” during the ceremony.
“David today we honor your extraordinary courage, we salute your selfless service and we thank you for carrying on the legacy of American valor that has always made our blessed nation the strongest and mightiest anywhere in the world,” Trump said.
“David often tells young people that Americans don’t want to fight but if someone picks a fight with us we will always win because we don’t fight for awards and recognition,” the president added. “We fight for love of our country, our homeland, our family and our unit and that’s stronger than anything the enemy has.”
On Tuesday, Bellavia discussed the ongoing situation with Iran on radio station WBEN.
“The Iraq War Veteran pointed to the lack of immediate response from Iran as a sign that they understand the power of the US Military, and how it compares to their own situation,” WBEN outlined.
“People realize that at any moment men and women can be called to do their job in the military, and I think we take that for granted,” Bellavia said on the radio show. “They’re so good at it, that no one really wants to mess with us. There’s a lot of people that might talk a big game and other countries can make threats, but when the rubber hits the road the United States warrior is going to be okay and their training and the way that they present themselves is a deterrent to attacking our interests and our citizens.”
WATCH:
"We will not be intimidated. We will not back down. We’ve seen war. We don’t want war, but if you want a war with the United States of America, there is one thing I can promise you, so help me God: someone else will raise your sons and daughters." – Staff Sgt. David G. Bellavia pic.twitter.com/2liRsjxrGd
— Wojciech Pawelczyk 🇵🇱🇺🇸 (@PolishPatriotTM) January 7, 2020
View Mr. Bellavia’s full remarks, below: