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Barry SadlerBarry Sadler (November 1, 1940—September 8, 1989) was a Green Beret medic and Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He became a musical phenomenon in 1966 with his hit song "Ballad of the Green Berets." Sadler was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico, the second son of John Sadler and Bebe Littlefield of Phoenix, Arizona. Sadler's parents divorced shortly afterward, with his father dying of a rare form of nervous system cancer at age 36. Bebe took Sadler's older brother, Robert, to various places in the Southwest, working temporary jobs in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Sadler dropped out of the Leadville, Colorado high school in the tenth grade. He hitchhiked across the country, and joined the U.S. Air Force after a year of wandering the country. Sadler was trained in radar and traveled to Japan at age 17. After a few years in the Air Force, Sadler joined the Army, hoping for more excitement. While serving in the Vietnam War, he was severely wounded in the knee by a feces-covered punji stick while leading a patrol in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, southeast of Pleiku in May 1965. At the time, Sadler was on an antibiotic for dysentery, so no major ill effects from the punji stick were seen. He used only a cotton swab and an adhesive bandage while finishing the patrol. Later, Sadler developed a major infection of the leg, sending him home. During dangerous surgery, Sadler's doctors had to enlarge the wound to drain it and administer penicillin. While recovering in the hospital, Sadler heard Robert F. Kennedy dedicating the new JFK Center for Special Warfare at Fort Bragg. At that moment, Sadler promised himself that if his leg fought the infection, he would give away the rights to his song. Sadler recorded his now-famous song, "Ballad of the Green Berets," an implicitly pro-Vietnam War song in ballad style. The recording of his Vietnam songs was initiated by the urging of writer Robin Moore who is the author of the novel "The Green Berets" which became a major movie starring John Wayne. Moore writes an introduction on the back cover of Sadlers' own autobiography "I'm a Lucky One" written with Tom Mahoney-The Macmillan company, New York 1967. The title of this book is also a Sadler recorded song. The "Ballad of the Green Berets" was picked up by RCA Records in early 1966 and became a fast-selling single, reaching #1 on the yearly single charts. Sadler recorded an album of similarly themed songs, called Ballads of the Green Berets. None of the other songs on the album (which generally tell the common tales of soldiers serving in a time of war) made an impact. Sadler was widely thought to be a writer of simple songs, and having an average voice. Unable to score another hit, Sadler took to writing books. He chose to write about soldiers, but his series of novels took a turn far different from his music. His "Casca" series centers on the title character, Casca Longinus (a sort of combination of Longinus and The Wandering Jew), who stabbed Christ during the crucifixion, and is cursed to forever remain a soldier until the Second Coming. The series of 23 novels by Sadler takes Casca through to the 20th century. Later in life and after serving time in prison for a fatal shooting, Sadler moved to Guatemala City, and it was there that he was shot in the head in a taxi cab. The circumstances involving his death remain a mystery. It has been said that he shot himself accidentally, while some believe he was assassinated while training and arming the Contras. It is also possible that he was simply a victim of random violence. Sadler, Barry Sadler, Barry
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