remembering SSgt Barry Sadler born 83yrs ago on this day... American soldier, singer/songwriter, and author. Sadler served as a Green Beret medic, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served in the Vietnam War from late December 1964 to late May 1965. Most of his work has a military theme, and he is best known for his patriotic "Ballad of the Green Berets," a #1 hit in 1966. Barry Allen Sadler was born November 1, 1940 in Carlsbad, New Mexico Enlistment Sadler dropped out of high school in the tenth grade in Leadville, Colorado. In 1958, at 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He finished his General Educational Development certificate while in the Air Force. He trained as a radar technician in 1958 and was stationed in Japan. After his discharge in 1961, Sadler enlisted in the U.S. Army, and volunteered for Airborne and Special Forces, opting to be a medic. When he completed Airborne training he underwent the lengthy training as a combat medic at Fort Sam Houston Texas, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Wounded in action In May 1965, while he was on a combat patrol southeast of Pleiku in the Central Highlands, he was severely wounded in the knee by a €eces-covered pu nji stick. Sadler dressed the wound with a cotton swab and an adhesive bandage, then completed the patrol; however, he subsequently developed a serious infection in his leg, and was evacuated to Clark Air Base Hospital in The Philippines. Doctors were forced to surgically enlarge the wound to drain it and to administer large doses of penicillin. Sadler returned to Fort Bragg where he made a complete recovery. The Ballad of the Green Berets Sadler recorded "The Ballad of the Green Berets", a patriotic tune, Dec 1965. The writer Robin Moore, author of the novel The Green Berets, which became a 1968 movie, The Green Berets, featuring John Wayne, helped Sadler with lyrics and with getting a recording contract "The Ballad of the Green Berets" arranged as a choral version by Ken Darby was the title song of the movie. Moore also wrote an introduction to Sadler's autobiography, I'm A Lucky One, which he dictated to Tom Mahoney and was published by Macmillan Company in 1967. "The Ballad of the Green Berets" was released in Jan 1966, and became a fast-selling single, holding No. 1 Hot 100 chart for 5 wks. It sold 9 million + copies. The song was a great success in many U.S. cities; On Jan 30 he sang on Ed Sullivan Sadler had recorded an album of similarly themed songs which he titled Ballads of the Green Berets. It sold a million copies during the first five weeks of its release. Sadler had a minor success, the similarly patriotic-themed "The 'A' Team", later the same year when that single scored #28. Awards and decorations According to the ribbons and badges worn by Sadler he received the following awards for his military service: Purple Heart Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and the South Vietnamese Parachutist Badge. Dec 1, 1978 Sadler €iIIed Lee Emerson Bellamy (believed self defense) He served 28 days Sadler moved to Guatemala City in 1984 He continued to write and publish his Casca books Sept 7, 1988, he was shot in the head while sitting in a cab in Guatemala City (believed it to be a robbery); flown to US He underwent surgery at the Nashville (VA) Hospital . After emerging from the coma, Sadler was a quadriplegic and significant brain damage. After being moved to the Cleveland VA Hospital for treatment, he was removed from the hospital by two former Green Berets and his mother, After a contentious court battle waged by his wife and children, a court in Tennessee ruled that Sadler be put under the care of an independent guardian. He was moved to the VA Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee He died Nov 5, 1989 49yrs old #ssgtbarrysadler #patrioticsong #greenbarets #60s70s80smusic #musicvideo #onthisdayinmusic #ifonlyfor59seconds - @mama.rocks.13