MAGALIA-PINES FAMILY PRACTICE MEDICAL CLINIC

The Ballad of The Green Beret
SSgt. Barry Sadler

Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Berets

Silver wings upon their chests
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret

Trained to live off nature's land
Trained to combat hand-to-hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage taken from the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chests
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret

Back at home a young wife waits
Her Green Beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her this last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest
Make him one of America's best
He'll be a man they'll test one day
Have him win the Green Beret

SSG Barry Sadler

Green Beret Medic SSG Barry Sadler wrote the lyrics to Army's elite Special Forces unit Green Beret song.  Wounded in Vietnam, veteran Staff Sergeant Sadler wanted to pay tribute to his comrades in arms.  "The Ballad of the Green Berets" was the biggest hit single of 1966.  The Ballad sold two million copies in five weeks.

Barry Sadler (November 1, 1940 – September 8, 1989) was a Green Beret medic and Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He became a musical phenomenon in 1966 with his hit song "Ballad of the Green Berets."