Patriotic Songs
The 1960s were a turbulent time. There were those opposed to the war in Vietnam , and there were those fighting overseas. “The Ballad of the Green Berets” by Staff Sgt Barry Sadler honors the latter. The Green Berets are an elite special force in the U.S. Army. This song about them was written by author Robin Moore and Staff Sgt Barry Sadler, who was a Green Beret combat medic during the Vietnam War. In 1966, the song rose to #1 on Cash Box as well as #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. It went to #2 on Billboard’s Country survey. The tune is based on the traditional American folk song “The Butcher Boy,” and the lyrics honor Green Beret James Gabriel, Jr., who was the first native Hawaiian who died in Vietnam.
Robin Moore served as a nose gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. His books certainly cover a wide variety of subject. Among them are The Green Berets; The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy; and a co-authorship with Xaviera Hollander and Yvonne Dunleavy on The Happy Hooker: My Own Story.