In advance of Veterans Day, Medal of Honor winner David Bellavia spoke of his mission to spread the word about sacrifice, service and the love that he says is liberated in a veteran's life by serving in the Armed Forces.
“I found love on the battlefield and it blew me away. War is horrible. All the clichés--you know, you've all seen the movies or have experienced it yourself. That's obvious. But there's love," said Bellavia, the Western New York native who in June became the only living veteran of the Iraq War to receive the nation's highest military honor.
"And if you're willing to be there with me, I don't care anything about where you're from or who you are. You are my blood, I'm going to bring you home. And when you see people bleed for each other, sacrifice for each other, it is impossible to be victimized by that experience," he said in a Washington Post Live online discussion last week (below).
“I hope nobody sees combat ever in their life, but I hope everyone has a moment in their life when they realize, 'My God, this is so much more worthy than me. And this guy over here that I don't even know or get along with is as important as my whole family.' It's beautiful."