Barry Sadler Barry Sadler ( November 1 , 1940November 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 in the United States Army during the Vietnam War . Most of his work has a military theme , and he billed himself as SSG Barry Sadler , although his label credits read SSgt Barry Sadler . Early life . Sadler was born in Carlsbad , New Mexico , the second son of John Sadler and Bebe Littlefield of Phoenix , Arizona . His parents were both professional gamblers , and the family moved often . His parents divorced when Sadler was very young , and his father died not long after of a rare form of nervous system cancer at the age of 36 . His mother took her sons with her as she worked at temporary jobs in Arizona , California , Colorado , New Mexico , and Texas . According to Sadler ' s autobiography , " I ' m a Lucky One " , his father developed a successful plumbing and electrical business in Carlsbad , New Mexico . He also owned several farms in the area . He describes his mother as managing restaurants and bars , and , at times , games in casinos . Career . Enlistment . Sadler dropped out of high school in the tenth grade in Leadville , Colorado . After a year of hitch - hiking across the country , he enlisted at 17 in the U . S . Air Force . He was trained as a radar technician and was stationed in Japan . Following his discharge , Sadler enlisted in the Army , seeking more excitement . Wounded in action . After completing airborne training , Sadler volunteered for the U . S . Army Special Forces and passed the difficult selections tests . Following lengthy training as a combat medic at Fort Sam Houston , Texas , he was sent to South Vietnam . In May 1965 , while on a combat patrol in the Central Highlands southeast of Pleiku , he was severely wounded in the knee by a feces - covered punji stick . He was already taking an antibiotic for dysentery , and no ill effects from the punji stick were seen . He used a cotton swab and an adhesive bandage , then finished the patrol . However , he developed a serious infection in his leg , and was flown to Walter Reed Hospital in the United States . Sadler ' s doctors were forced to surgically enlarge the wound to drain it and to administer penicillin . While he was recuperating , he heard Senator Robert F . Kennedy dedicate the new JFK Center for Special Warfare at Fort Bragg . Sadler promised himself that if he successfully fought off the infection , he would give away the rights to his song " The Ballad of the Green Berets . " He recovered completely and kept his promise . The Ballad of the Green Berets . Sadler recorded his now - famous song , the " Ballad of the Green Berets " , a patriotic song . The recording was encouraged by writer Robin Moore , author of the novel " The Green Berets . " The book became a 1968 movie , " The Green Berets , " starring John Wayne , with " The Ballad of the Green Berets " arranged in a choral version by Ken Darby as the title song of the film . Moore wrote an introduction to Sadler ' s autobiography , " I ' m a Lucky One , " which he dictated to Tom Mahoney and which Macmillan published in 1967 . " The Ballad of the Green Berets " was picked up by the RCA Victor Records label in early 1966 and became a fast - selling single , reaching No . 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks from March 5 to April 2 , 1966 . It sold more than a million copies , and was awarded a gold disc . The song was a big hit in many U . S . cities ; it spent five weeks at No . 1 on the weekly Good Guys music survey at WMCA , the top pop music radio station in New York in 1966 . He sang it for his television début on " The Jimmy Dean Show " . Sadler recorded an album of similarly themed songs which he titled " Ballads of the Green Berets " . It sold a million copies in the first five weeks of its release . Sadler landed one follow - up hit , the similarly patriotic - themed " The ' A ' Team " , later the same year when that single reached # 28 in the wake of the success of " The Ballad of the Green Berets . " Awards and decorations . According to the ribbons and badges worn by Sadler in a televised performance of " The Ballad of the Green Berets , " he received the following awards for his military service : Army Good Conduct Medal , Air Force Longevity Service Award , Purple Heart Medal , Army Good Conduct Medal , Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal , Combat Infantryman Badge , Parachutist Badge , and the South Vietnamese Parachutist Badge . The ribbons shown in Sadler ' s TV performance mentioned above did not reflect all of Sadler ' s awards . Sadler was also entitled to the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal . He had the option of replacing the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with the Vietnam Service Medal . Later years . Literary works . Sadler was unable to score another major hit , though his " The A - Team " was a Top 30 " Billboard " chart single in 1966 . Sadler took to writing novels . He chose to write about soldiers , but his series of books was far different from his music . His popular Casca series centers on the title character , Casca Rufio Longinius ( a sort of combination of Saint Longinus and The Wandering Jew ) , the Roman soldier who stabbed Christ during the crucifixion , and is thus cursed to remain a soldier until the Second Coming . The novels takes Casca to the 20th century . Sadler himself wrote only the first few books , the remainder being assigned by the publishers to ghost writers though issued under his name . Subsequent books have been written by different authors . Lee Emerson Bellamy . On December 1 , 1978 , at around 11 : 00 p . m . , Sadler killed a country music songwriter named Lee Emerson Bellamy with one gunshot to the head . The shooting was the culmination of a month - long dispute the men had over Darlene Sharp , who was Bellamy ' s former girlfriend , and Sadler ' s lover at the time . Bellamy was not pleased by her involvement with Sadler . Witnesses gave testimony that prior to the shooting , Bellamy made many harassing phone calls to Sadler , and numerous threats on his life . On the night in question , Bellamy made several harassing phone calls , including one to the Natchez Trace Restaurant , where Sadler and Sharp were having dinner and drinks with several friends . That led to Sadler asking the bartender to call the police , who never responded . Bellamy later followed the group to Sharp ' s residence and knocked on the door . Sadler exited a side door to try to catch him in the act , and upon seeing Sadler , Bellamy proceeded to aggressively approach him . It was at this point , Sadler testified , that he saw a flash of metal . Thinking this was a gun , he discharged his weapon once . Bellamy was struck in the head and died the following morning . It was later shown that Bellamy was unarmed , and that the flash of metal was likely from his car keys . After the shooting , according to court records on the case , Sadler then placed a handgun into Bellamy ' s van . This may have been to strengthen his case for self - defense , which initially , is what Sadler claimed . This was later changed to a plea of guilty . On June 1 , 1979 , Sadler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Lee Emerson Bellamy , and sentenced to 4 – 5 years in prison . Upon appeal , due to the circumstances of the case , his sentence was reduced to only 21 days . Sadler was later sued for wrongful death by Bellamy ' s estate , and was ordered to pay restitution of around $ 10 , 000 . Death . Sadler moved to Guatemala City in the mid 1980s and frequented a bar / restaurant called " La Europa " ( also known as Freddie ' s Bar , after the German proprietor ) . He continued to publish the Casca books ( mostly using various ghostwriters ) , produced a self - defense video ( which was never released ) and even helped with vaccination programs in rural villages . On September 7 , 1988 in Guatemala City , Sadler was shot in the head at night in a cab by someone pursuing a robbery attempt . He was airlifted back to the United States by friends from " Soldier Of Fortune " , where he was hospitalized and remained in a coma for several months . He eventually was released , but with significant brain damage . When released from the hospital in January 1989 , he was reported missing by Sadler ' s family . He was eventually found by the family . He died on November 5 , 1989 at his mother ' s home in Murfreesboro , Tennessee , of complications from his gunshot injury .