Remember the Ramrods!

I submitted SSG Bellavia for a Distinguished Service Cross following the battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Months later the award was downgraded to a Silver Star by someone thousands of miles away, safely tucked in the Pentagon. David by then had left the army and was trying to put his life back together in western New York. Ultimately, his Silver Star would be awarded to him by the postal worker who delivered it to him in the mail.

In a short but violent three weeks, members of Task Force 2-2, the hastily built collection of units from across Iraq would earn a Presidential Unit Citation, seven Silver Stars, 22 Bronze Stars w/Valor and more than 30 purple hearts. Fourteen years after the battle, David's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. But that's not really the story here.

I once scoffed at the idea when a historian told me it takes 20 years to learn what happened on a battlefield. Now, I understand what he meant.

In the heat of the moment there are a thousand perspectives and just as many personal stories. Those perspectives, the self doubt and internal judgements haunt us, only to be let out in the company of the warriors we fought with. Given the tyranny of time and distance we rarely get together, leaving the stories untold and the internal battles unacknowledged.

David's book Remember the Ramrods (Mariner, 2022) unraveled a couple things for me.

First, life made us warriors, complicated and certainly fallible but still warriors. At our core is a draw to the sounds of the battle, not because we want another fight but because we yearn for the bonds and camaraderie that are forged by the fight. Without our tribe we are less than whole.

Second, war traumatizes everyone it touches. Certainly those who fight them but no less so their spouses, children and close friends. It traumatizes those who report on them and certainly those who are victims of them.

David does a great job of telling some of the stories...about the people, before during and after the battle of Fallujah. Most importantly by telling their stories he's helping them reconnect with the tribe.

For Veterans Day this year, pick up David's book and read it. If you are a warrior struggling with the past find your tribe and reconnect. For everyone else, find a veteran and ask them to share something about their time in service. You'll be amazed at what you might learn.