Barry Sadler

Barry Sadler
Barry Sadler in 1966
Born	(1940-11-01)November 1, 1940 Carlsbad, New Mexico, U.S.
Died	November 5, 1989(1989-11-05) (aged 49) Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force(1958-1962)  United States Army(1962-1967)
Years of service	1958-1967
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	U.S. Army Special Forces - 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

Barry Allen Sadler (November 1, 1940 – November 5, 1989) was an American military veteran, author, actor, and singer-songwriter. Sadler served as a Green Beret combat medic with the rank of Staff Sergeant of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Most of his work has a military theme, and he credited himself in the proper Army form as SSG Barry Sadler, although his music usually credits read SSgt Barry Sadler. He is most famously known for 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. According to Sadler's autobiography, I'm A Lucky One, his father developed a successful plumbing and electrical business in Carlsbad and owned several farms in the area. He describes his mother as managing restaurants and bars, and at times, games in casinos.

The family relocated often. His parents divorced when Sadler was very young, and his father died not long after at age 36 from a rare form of nervous system cancer. His mother moved her family around as she worked at temporary jobs in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Sadler dropped out of high school in the tenth grade in Leadville, Colorado. After hitch-hiking across the country for about a year, he enlisted at 17 in the U.S. Air Force in 1958. He trained as a radar technician and was stationed in Japan. After his discharge in 1962, Sadler enlisted in the U.S. Army, seeking more excitement than the Air Force had to offer.