House to House

House to House: An Epic Memoir of War

By: Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, John Bruning / Narrated By: Ray Porter

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Raw. Fierce. Brave. …And Ray Porter? Is that you…?!?

I’ve gotta tell ya. I truly did NOT recognize Ray Porter as narrator of this, the epic House to House by Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, the memoir of his time fighting alongside some extraordinary men in Iraq. For a few audiobooks now, I’ve carped glibly that I kept “hearing” his performance in a favorite Christmas book every time I tried to listen to each of these books. I’m not EVEN gonna mention that Christmas book because this performance, of this unrelenting story, is nowhere neeeear a wry, tongue-in-cheek delivery. Porter’s tones vary from swift and tightly-paced, to out-of-control, to numb and afraid. A+, Mr. Porter, sir!!!

I’d chosen another book for Veterans Day as a combat memoir of Iraq, and tho’ I won’t mention its name here (It might turn out to be good), I can say that I felt myself losing patience with the young man. He was DYING to see action and, who knows, maybe in that book he does see action and is forever changed by it, I dunno. But here in my 50s, I’ve seen enough of life to make me verrrrrry thoughtful about what I ask for.

And besides, I wanted to have an audiobook to offer where I felt entirely respectful of the individual, in awe of all he’d seen and done.

Wow wow wow

House to House starts off roaring, and it never stops. Bellavia and his men are in combat, but after the fighting there, they’re slotted to go to Fallujah. These men have seen enough blood and mayhem that they’re not sanguine about it all. Especially when they hear what are to be the Acceptable Losses, and that it’s to be a Who’s Who of deadly fighters from all over the world who’ve been drawn to fight Americans in Fallujah. As a hardened reporter tells the Americans: Just look at them. They’ve no other purpose than to kill; they’ve no thought of winning. They’re just in it to slaughter as many Americans as they can before they’re taken down.

The writing’s about as raw and intense as it gets, and it shows a brotherhood who will do absolutely ANYthing for each other. When one man feels fear, another will come to his aid, will buck his courage up, will assure him that he won’t die alone. It’s harsh and beautiful at the same time. And Iraq is a petri dish of infection for the many, many injuries they’ll suffer. It’s a brutal and unforgiving environment against a brutal and unforgiving foe.

Then too we come to see how Bellgravia would come to view the military as the only choice for him; when he was an older boy, he stood by and did nothing as crazed home-invaders terrorized his family, even though he had access to a shotgun (Which he didn’t use because he stopped and reasoned that he just could NOT), even though he took up a baseball bat and… did nothing again. He forever held that day up as the day he realized he could never really look himself in the face again, as the day his father would never look him in the eye again. That he finds himself in combat is extraordinary; that he loses his sense of God only to find Him again—in combat—is astounding and makes for a very well-written and thorough account of a man growing into himself and into his choices.

You’ll feel awe as you listen to this days-long battle, and you’ll feel disgust when (Not) all survive to come back to a base of men and leaders who’ve done nothing except watch ESPN, eat hot chow, chat online, and who will STILL deMAND these battle weary men shave so that top brass can take his photo op of the campaign.

And in the end? You’ll feel sorrow for all Bellgravia lost when he left Iraq. The close friends he’ll never see again. The men who were killed and returned home in body bags and caskets.

And you’ll hope, ever so desperately, that here in 2019, he’s found the peace and happiness that one who served so faithfully deserves.



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