Vets for Freedom has just announced the launch of their National Heroes Tour, which will take several of the group's members on a coast to coast trip to bolster support for the troops and their mission. One of the guys going is David Bellavia, who was awarded the Silver Star and nominated for the Medal of Honor. I had the chance to speak with Bellavia a couple of months ago about his recently published memoir House to House.

Bellavia served in Iraq in 2004 before returning to co-found Vets for Freedom. He saw the worst of Iraq during his tour, describing his time there as 12 months of "gruesome, house-to-house combat." He was in Fallujah in November 2004, participating in the battle to retake that insurgent stronghold, when his unit walked into an ambush. The house they were clearing was filled with insurgents, but that only became apparent after several bursts of gunfire forced his comrades back onto the street, leaving him trapped in the house. Bellavia said of that day, "they started coming at me on at a time . . . it ended up in a hand-to-hand struggle." There were six terrorists in the house, and Bellavia lived to write the book. As for the bad guys, "72 virgins across the board," Bellavia said. He now sees himself as an "instigator and equalizer countering the doom and gloom" message of the antiwar crowd. "I pacified the jihadists . . . we carried the water, we did the worst of the fighting, and we're back with a positive message."

If you want to hear that message, you can find the tour dates here, and if you want to support these guys financially, which I'm sure would be much appreciated, click here. You can get a copy of Bellavia's book here.