Barry Sadler

Barry Allen Sadler was an American singer-songwriter and author whose military service influenced his work. After a stint in the United States Air Force, Sadler served in the United States Army as a Green Beret medic, achieving the rank of staff sergeant. He served in the Vietnam War from late December 1964 to late May 1965. Most of his work has a military theme, and he is best known for his patriotic song "The Ballad of the Green Berets", a number-one hit in 1966. He died at age 49 after being shot in the head in Guatemala City.