Barry Sadler served in the Vietnam War from late December 1964 to late May 1965.
27 Facts About Barry Sadler
2.
Barry Sadler died at age 49 after being shot in the head in Guatemala City.
3.
Barry Sadler was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico, the second son of John Barry Sadler and Bebe Littlefield of Phoenix, Arizona.
4.
Barry Sadler describes his mother as managing restaurants and bars, and at times, games in casinos.
5.
Barry Sadler's parents divorced when Sadler was five, and his father died not long after at age 36 from a rare form of nervous system cancer.
6.
Barry Sadler's mother moved her family around as she worked at temporary jobs in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
7.
Barry Sadler dropped out of high school in the tenth grade in Leadville, Colorado.
8.
Barry Sadler finished his General Educational Development certificate while in the Air Force.
9.
Barry Sadler trained as a radar technician in 1958 and was stationed in Japan.
10.
Barry 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.
11.
Barry Sadler returned to Fort Bragg where he made a complete recovery.
12.
Barry Sadler recorded his famous song, "The Ballad of the Green Berets", a patriotic tune about the Special Forces, in December 1965.
13.
Barry Sadler had recorded an album of similarly themed songs which he titled Ballads of the Green Berets.
14.
Barry Sadler was entitled to the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
15.
Barry Sadler had the option of replacing the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with the Vietnam Service Medal.
16.
Barry Sadler is seen in photographs in uniform wearing an Air Force Good Conduct Medal ribbon from his pre-Army service in the USAF.
17.
Barry Sadler was unable to score anything close to a major success with his other songs, though "The A-Team" was a Top 30 Billboard chart single during 1966.
18.
Barry Sadler was honorably discharged from the Army in May 1967, and moved with his family to Tucson, Arizona.
19.
That resulted in Barry Sadler asking a bartender to telephone the police, who never responded.
20.
Barry Sadler was sued for wrongful death by Bellamy's stepson, and was ordered to pay compensation of about $10,000.
21.
Barry Sadler continued to write and publish his Casca books and produced a never-released self-defense video.
22.
Barry Sadler was flown to the United States by friends in a private jet.
23.
Barry Sadler underwent surgery at the Nashville Veterans Administration Hospital, and remained in a coma for about six weeks.
24.
Barry Sadler was finally released in January 1989, but his family reported him missing.
25.
Barry Sadler was moved to the VA Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in February 1989, but he never recovered from his injury.
26.
Barry Sadler died there of cardiac arrest on November 5,1989, four days after his 49th birthday.
27.
Barry Sadler was survived by his wife, Lavona, a daughter, Brooke, and two sons, Thor and Baron.