Barry Sadler
Barry Sadler was an American soldier, singer, and author, best known for his hit song "The Ballad of the Green Berets." Born on December 1, 1940, in Carlsbad, New Mexico, Sadler experienced a tumultuous childhood marked by family instability and economic challenges. He joined the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18, later enlisting in the U.S. Army, where he became a Green Beret medic during the Vietnam War. His song, released in 1966, became a massive success, selling millions of copies and earning him fame, although he struggled to replicate that success in his subsequent musical endeavors.
In addition to his music career, Sadler authored several books, including his autobiography and a popular series of novels known as the Casca series, which focused on a Roman soldier's eternal struggle. Despite his literary achievements, much of Sadler's life was marked by controversy, including his involvement in mercenary activities and legal troubles related to violent incidents. His life tragically ended in 1989, when he died from a brain infection after being shot in Guatemala City. Sadler's legacy remains a complex blend of military service, artistic expression, and personal challenges.
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Barry Sadler
Writer
- Born: December 1, 1940
- Birthplace: Carlsbad, New Mexico
- Died: November 5, 1989
- Place of death: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Biography
Barry Allen Sadler was born on December 1, 1940, in Carlsbad, New Mexico. His parents, John Sadler and Bebe Littlefield, divorced shortly after his birth. His father died of cancer a few years later, and his mother raised Sadler and his older brother, Robert. She worked in restaurants, bars, and gambling casinos while she and her sons lived in New Mexico, Arizona, and California before settling in Colorado. When he was twelve, Sadler spent the summer in a logging camp, where he learned how to play the guitar. Sadler dropped out of Leadville High School in the tenth grade to hitchhike around the country. In 1958, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he trained as a radar specialist and was stationed in Japan.
After his discharge, Sadler attempted to make a living by playing in a band. Unsuccessful, he was loading fruit into boxcars in California when he enlisted in the U.S. Army and volunteered to be a paratrooper. He eventually became a Green Beret medic and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. He was serving as a soldier in Vietnam and singing for his fellow soldiers when he wrote “The Ballad of the Green Berets.” After being wounded in May, 1965, he was recovering in a hospital when he decided to release the rights to the song as a patriotic gesture. Sadler recorded the song for RCA in December, 1965, and the record company released it as both a single and an album in 1966. The best-selling song of 1966, the single sold two million copies in five weeks and eleven million overall, and the album sold more than one million copies as well. During this time, Sadler wrote his autobiography, I’m a Lucky One. He never achieved anything close to such success with any other song and eventually turned to writing fiction.
His first novel was The Moi: A Novel of the Vietnam War, which utilized his Vietnam experiences. However, he is best known for the Casca series about a Roman legionnaire who participated in Christ’s crucifixion and was condemned to live as a soldier until Judgment Day. The twenty-three books in the series sold more than two million copies, although Sadler himself only wrote the first two and ghost writers authored the remainder.
Sadler later became a mercenary himself and was arrested in 1978 and 1981 for his involvement in fatal shootings. In 1984, he moved to Guatemala City, Guatemala, where he was living when he was shot while riding in a taxicab in September, 1989. He eventually died of a brain infection in a Veteran’s Administration hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on November 5, 1989.