I was drafted for that war and was sent to be a medical corpsman in Germany somehow avoiding the death and destruction in Viet Nam. I watched the total sellout of the people we promised to protect from the yoke of Communism. Many soldiers returned who like Green Beret Sergeant Barry Sadler never had their name inscribed on the Viet Nam War Memorial.
A wounded Sergeant Sadler returned home and would later die at his own hands in 1989 despite the achievement of his hit song, and some minor publishing success. In a side drama, Sergeant Sadler was arrested, tried and acquitted for the 1978 murder of Nashville song writer Lee Emerson.
Watch as Sergeant Sadler sings his hit song, The Ballad Of The Green Beret.
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Barry was shot in the head during
ReplyDeletea robbery in Guatemala; probably
for his gun cache. He had previously moved to Central America
to help w/the war against the commies.......
That’s more legend than fact. There is a mystery of just how he suffered his head wound. One report had him shooting himself in front of a woman he was dating to prove a point. Robbery and assassination were offered up as reasons later. He was a troubled man because of his Viet Nam experience and the horrible Pungi stick injury and infection that nearly killed him.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that his friend Robert K. Brown of Soldier Of Fortune Magizine knows the real truth about how Sgt Sadler died.
Rest in peace Barry, you were a hero.
That fantastic tribute still brings a tear to my eye. RIP Sarge.
ReplyDeleteIn the late 1970s, Sadler shot and killed country songwriter Lee Emerson. The shooting took place at night in front of Sadler's house. Pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, Sadler was sentenced to four to five years in prison, but all but 30 days was suspended.
ReplyDeletenews.google.com/newspapers?nid=932&dat=19800928&id=ZFcLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EFMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5412,3248970