Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.

The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.

Australia[link]

In the Australian Army, the rank of Staff Sergeant is slowly being phased out^{[citation needed]}. It was usually held by the Company Quartermaster Sergeant or the holders of other administrative roles. Staff sergeants are always addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", never as "Sergeant" as it degrades their rank. "Chief" is another nickname, usually for those who hold the quartermaster's role. A staff sergeant ranks above Sergeant and below Warrant Officer Class 2. But the rank of Staff Sergeant is still being used by the Australian Army Cadets.

Israel[link]

For further information, you may refer to Israel Defense Forces ranks.

In the Israel Defense Forces, soldiers are promoted from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant (Samál rishón) after 28 months of service for combat soldiers, and 32 months of service for non-combat soldiers, if they performed their duties appropriately during this time. Soldiers who take a commander's course may become staff sergeants earlier (usually after 24 months of service, or one year from becoming a commander). The rank insignia is composed of three clear-blue stripes (as is the rank of sergeant) with an embroided fig leaf, a well-known Jewish biblical motif, in the center of the rank insignia. Staff sergeants get a symbolic pay raise.

Singapore[link]

A Staff Sergeant (SSG) in the Singapore Armed Forces ranks above First Sergeant (1SG) and below Master Sergeant (MSG). It is the second most senior Specialist rank. Staff sergeants are addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", but never "Sergeant".^[1]

Staff sergeants may be appointed as Company Sergeant Major if they are due for promotion to Master Sergeant.^{[citation needed]} They are hence addressed as "Sergeant-Major", although in the past they were referred to as "Encik", which is now used to address only Warrant Officers.

The rank insignia consists of two chevrons pointing up and three chevrons pointing down, with the Singapore coat of arms in the middle.

Reference: Singapore Armed Forces Ranks

United Kingdom[link]

In the British Army, Staff Sergeant (SSgt or formerly S/Sgt) ranks above Sergeant and below Warrant Officer Class 2. The rank is given a NATO code of OR-7. The insignia is the monarch's crown above three downward pointing chevrons.

Staff sergeants can also hold other appointments, such as Company Quartermaster Sergeant, and are usually known by that appointment if held.

The equivalent rank in infantry regiments is Colour Sergeant, and holders are known by that title no matter what their appointment.

In the Household Cavalry the equivalent rank is Staff Corporal.

British staff sergeants are never referred to or addressed as "Sergeant", which would be reducing their rank, but are referred to and addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff" ("Staff Jones", for instance) or by their appointment or its abbreviation. Quartermaster sergeants are often addressed as "Q". In most cavalry regiments, staff sergeants are addressed as "Sergeant Major", which is assumed to derive from the original rank of Troop Sergeant Major.

Flight Sergeant and Chief Technician are the Royal Air Force equivalents. Chief Petty Officer is the equivalent in the Royal Navy and Colour Sergeant in the Royal Marines.

United States[link]

Staff Sergeant (SSG) is E-6 rank in the U.S. Army, just above Sergeant and below Sergeant First Class, and is a non-commissioned officer. Staff Sergeants are generally placed in charge of squads, but can also act as platoon sergeants in the absence of a Sergeant First Class. In support units, Staff Sergeants ordinarily hold headquarters positions because of the number of slots available for SSG in these units. Staff Sergeants are typically assigned as a squad leader or Company Operations Noncommissioned Officer in Charge at the company level, but may also hold other positions depending on the type of unit. Staff Sergeants are referred to as "Sergeant" except for in certain training environments and schools. The NATO code is OR-6.

The rank of staff sergeant in the U.S. Army (along with Technical Sergeant (renamed Sergeant First Class in 1948) and Master Sergeant) was created by Congress after the First World War.^[2]

Staff Sergeant (SSgt) is E-6 rank in the U.S. Marine Corps, just above Sergeant and below Gunnery Sergeant. A Marine staff sergeant is a staff non-commissioned officer rank. This grade is normally achieved after 10 to 13 years in service. The NATO code is OR-6. In the combat arms units, a staff sergeant usually is billeted as a platoon sergeant for 30+ Marines. They may also be tasked as a company gunnery sergeant, or a platoon commander if required. They are the senior tactical advisor to a platoon commander by virtue of time in service, previous deployments, and experience and is responsible for the proficiency, training and administrative issue of his Marines. They are referred to by their complete rank (i.e. "Staff Sergeant Jones" or simply "Staff Sergeant," with the abbreviation "SSgt").^{[citation needed]}

The rank of Staff Sergeant in the USMC was created in 1923 to coincide with the U.S. Army's ranks.^[3] Until the end of WW2, the insignia of Platoon Sergeant was three chevrons and a rocker, with Staff Sergeant having a horizontal stripe instead of a rocker below the chevrons. After the separate rank of Platoon Sergeant was eliminated, the Staff Sergeant rank switched over to the rocker insignia and staff sergeants held the platoon sergeant's billet.

Staff Sergeant (SSgt) is E-5 in the United States Air Force (U.S. Air Force). It ranks just above Senior Airman (SrA) and below Technical Sergeant (TSgt). It is the Air Force's first non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank, as well as the first Air Force rank to which promotion is attained on a competitive basis. SrA are considered for promotion if they attain that rank on or before February 1 of that testing year. This is so that they will have a minimum of 6 months time-in-grade before the first promotion date of that testing year, however in a normal career progression one achieves this grade after 5 to 7 years in service. Staff sergeants are expected to be technically proficient and function as first-line supervisors within a workcenter. After being selected for promotion senior airmen must attend Airman Leadership School (ALS), which teaches them basic leadership and how to write performance reports. The term of address is Staff Sergeant or Sergeant.

Cadet Staff Sergeant[link]

The rank of Cadet Staff Sergeant (CSSG) is used by many cadet organization around the world, including the Army Cadet Force and the Army Section of the Combined Cadet Force in the United Kingdom and the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps and the Civil Air Patrol in the United States.

See also[link]

• Police rank
• Comparative military ranks
• U.S. Air Force enlisted rank insignia
• U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia
• U.S. Marine Corps enlisted rank insignia
• U.S. Navy enlisted rank insignia
• United States Military Pay

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/ranks/specialists.html
2. ^ A Short History of the NCO
3. ^ World War II era Marine Corps enlisted ranks

External links[link]

• United States Army Staff Sergeant duties
• U.S. Army Enlisted Rank Insignia - Criteria, Background, and Images
• http://www.Army.mil

Joshua Ward (1685–1761)

Joshua Ward (1685–1761) was a London pharmacist and an experimental chemist.^[1] In 1736, Ward heated saltpeter and as it decomposed the sulfur was oxidized to SO₃, which combined with water to produce sulfuric acid. It was the first practical production of sulfuric acid on a large scale.

References[link]

This article about a British chemist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

His full-length portrait by the sculptor Agostino Carlini (active 1725 - 53) is at the V & A Museum in London.

Salvatore Augustine Giunta
Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta
Born	(1985-01-21) January 21, 1985 (age 27) Clinton, Iowa
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	2003 – 2011
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan
Awards	Medal of Honor Bronze Star Purple Heart

Salvatore Augustine Giunta (English pronunciation: /ˌsælvəˈtɔreɪ ˈdʒʊntə/; born January 21, 1985) is a former staff sergeant in the United States Army. He was the first living person to receive the United States Armed Forces' highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for actions that occurred after the Vietnam War. Giunta was cited for saving the lives of members of his squad on October 25, 2007 during the War in Afghanistan. He left the Army in June 2011 and is currently attending school in Colorado.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Born in Clinton, Iowa, on January 21, 1985, in a family of Italian descent,^[2] Giunta grew up in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha. His parents, Steven, a medical equipment technician, and Rosemary, a preschool teacher, live in Hiawatha. He has two younger siblings, Mario and Katie.^[3] Giunta attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. At age 17, while working in a Subway sandwich shop, he decided to enlist and joined the Army in November 2003.^[3][4]

Giunta and Jennifer Lynn Mueller, a native of Dubuque, were married in October 2009 after dating for several years.^[3][4] The couple are now parents of a daughter born on October 6, 2011.^[5]

Military career[link]

Giunta attended basic training and infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to Afghanistan from March 2005 until March 2006 and again from May 2007 until July 2008. He was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2009. Giunta was last stationed at Caserma Ederle, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team's base near Vicenza, Italy.^[6] He served in the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team,^[7] and worked in a support role for members of his unit then deployed in Afghanistan.^[8]

In 2007, Giunta was stationed at Firebase Vegas in the Korengal Valley, an area about 9.7 by 1.6 kilometres (6.0 × 0.99 mi) near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, nicknamed by the soldiers as the Valley of Death.^[9] In late October, his company launched a six-day mission known as Operation Rock Avalanche. On October 23, Taliban fighters killed respected Staff Sergeant Larry Rougle and wounded two other infantrymen when Rougle's position on "Honcho Hill" was overrun. On October 25, company commander Captain Dan Kearney sent 2nd and 3rd Platoon back to meet with the local village elders and to recover from them the U.S. equipment that the Taliban had captured when Rougle was killed.^[10][11] 1st Platoon was tasked with providing protective cover and interdicting enemy forces from a nearby ridge.

Medal of Honor action[link]

Shortly after nightfall on October 25, 2007, rifle team leader Giunta and the rest of the seven troops of 1st Platoon had just finished a day-long overwatch of 2nd and 3rd Platoon in the valley below. Although dark, there was sufficient moonlight that night vision equipment was not needed. They were returning to Combat Outpost Vimoto and Korengal Outpost. They walked about 10 to 15 feet (3.0–4.6 m) apart through the thin holly forest, along the Gatigal Spur of Honcho Hill at about 2,438 metres (7,999 ft) elevation.^[12]

Within 50 to 100 metres (160–330 ft) of leaving their position, 10 to 15 insurgents ambushed the main body of the squad from cover and concealment only about 10 metres (33 ft) away,^[12] so near that the Apaches overhead could not provide close air support.^[13] The ambushing force was armed with AK-47 assault rifles, 10 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and three belt-fed PKM machine guns.^[14] They fired an unusually high proportion of tracer rounds. Giunta described it later:

Ambush on October 25

The ambush was initiated with intense RPG and PKM fire

Giunta's squad used grenades to suppress enemy fire

Sergeant Joshua Brennan, leader of alpha team and one of Giunta's best friends, was walking point.^[15] He was followed by SPC Frank Eckrode, squad leader Erick Gallardo, and then Giunta, who was then a specialist. PFC Kaleb Casey and Garret Clary followed Giunta. A 13-man Headquarters (HQ) unit led by Lt. Brad Winn, including a five-man gun team from weapons squad,^[16] along with a nurse who volunteered for the mission, followed immediately behind them. When the Taliban opened fire, Brennan was struck by eight rounds and Eckrode was hit by four rounds.^[15] Gallardo attempted to sprint forward, but RPGs exploding among the thin trees and 18 inches (46 cm)-high bushes around him along with machine gun and small arms fire stopped him.^[17] Unable to advance, he fell back to join Giunta's bravo team. While backpedaling and firing at the same time, he fell and was in the same moment struck in the helmet by an AK-47 round.^[11] An RPG round struck very near Giunta, who was returning fire and directing bravo team from a small defilade. Giunta was puzzled that the lip of the small depression he lay in was not protecting him from rounds cracking by his head, that they appeared to be coming from the north as well as the west.^[13]

Giunta saw Gallardo take the bullet to his head and fall. Assuming Gallardo had been shot, Giunta rose and ran through the intense wall of fire to his side.^[14] As he helped the uninjured sergeant find cover, the ceramic plate in the front of Giunta's protective vest was struck by a bullet. Another round struck the SMAW-D weapon slung over his back.^[18][19][20] Giunta recognized that the extremely heavy tracer fire was coming not just from his west but from the north as well, a classic L-shaped ambush that threatened to roll over the squad. He ordered Casey and Clary to pull back a few steps to prevent the Taliban from flanking them.^[13] Casey was firing his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon cyclic and Clary was firing his M203 grenade launcher as well.

The platoon leader in the HQ unit, Lieutenant Brad Winn, radioed Captain Kearney to advise him that their unit had five wounded men. The squad's medic, Specialist Hugo Mendoza, was among them. He had been shot through the femoral artery at the beginning of the ambush and died. Kearney ordered Second Platoon to assist Winn's platoon, but Second Platoon was in the valley below, some distance away, and had to first cross a river to reach them.^[10]

Giunta and Gallardo gathered Casey and Clary. They were pinned down by the concentrated small arms and cyclic machine gun fire from a number of Taliban positions at close range. Less than 15 seconds into the ambush,^[17] Giunta and his men acted to disrupt the attack. They alternated throwing volleys of fragmentation grenades towards the Taliban about 15 metres (49 ft) to their west and moving north.^[9] Firing Pfc. Casey's M249, Clary's M203, and their other weapons, they advanced until they reached Eckrode. Shot twice in one leg and with two other wounds, Eckrode was attempting to unjam his M249 SAW.^[11] Gallardo, who later received a Silver Star for his actions, dressed Eckrode's wounds and called for medevac.

Giunta, seeing that Eckrode was tended to, continued with Pfc. Clary to advance over the exposed, open ground of the ridge in the dark, looking for Brennan. When they could not locate him where they expected to find him, they ran after the retreating Taliban. The anti-coalition militia covered their rear with effective small arms fire but the Americans ran after them. Giunta saw three individuals and then recognized that two of them were Afghans dragging Sgt. Brennan, one by the legs and one by his arms.^[11] Giunta pursued them, firing his M4 carbine as he ran, killing one (later identified as Mohammad Tali, considered a high-value target).^[21][22] The second Afghan dropped Brennan and fled.^[13] A Spectre AC130 gunship shortly afterward spotted someone carrying Brennan's rucksack and killed him. Giunta said, "I ran through fire to see what was going on with [Brennan] and maybe we could hide behind the same rock and shoot together ... He was still conscious. He was breathing. He was asking for morphine. I said, 'You'll get out and tell your hero stories,' and he was like, 'I will, I will.'"^[23]

After reaching Brennan, Giunta pulled him back towards the rest of the squad and cover, comforted him, and examined him for wounds in the dark. Brennan was grievously hurt.^[17] The 2nd and 3rd Platoons arrived to reinforce their squad and render aid. Giunta continued to assist the medic and adjust security while they waited for evacuation.^[9][13]

The ambush had lasted three minutes.^[11] Later the next day, Brennan died while in surgery.^[24] Gallardo told Giunta later on, "You don't understand ... but what you did was pretty crazy. We were outnumbered. You stopped the fight. You stopped them from taking a soldier."^[25] Eckrode said of Giunta, "For all intents and purposes, with the amount of fire that was going on in the conflict at the time, he shouldn't be alive."^[15]

Medal of Honor award[link]

Giunta receiving the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on November 16, 2010

Giunta learned two days later from Captain Kearney that the captain was going to recommend him for the Medal of Honor. He was uncomfortable about being singled out and labeled a hero. "If I’m a hero, every man that stands around me, every woman in the military, everyone who goes into the unknown is a hero,” he says. “So if you think that’s a hero—as long as you include everyone with me.”^[26] Giunta insists that his actions were those of any man in his unit. “In this job, I am only mediocre. I’m average."^[26] "I did what I did because in the scheme of painting the picture of that ambush, that was just my brush stroke. That’s not above and beyond. I didn’t take the biggest brush stroke, and it wasn’t the most important brush stroke. Hearing the Medal of Honor is like a slap in the face."^[9]

On September 10, 2010, the White House announced that Giunta would be awarded the United States' highest military decoration, the first awarded to a living recipient since the Vietnam War.^[27][28]

He received the medal from President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House on November 16, 2010.^[29] All of his surviving squad members also attended the ceremony.

Addressing the attention he has received due to the medal, he said:

Giunta is the fourth Medal of Honor recipient from the War in Afghanistan, after Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, Army Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, and Army Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller,^[31][32] the others being posthumously awarded the medal. All four were decorated for actions in eastern Afghanistan's small but highly lethal Kunar Province.

On December 31 of 2010, Giunta was invited by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to attend the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square. There, he pressed a button upon the start of a sixty second countdown to initiate the ball drop.

Post-military life[link]

Giunta chose not to re-enlist and left the Army in June 2011.^[33] He and his wife moved to Colorado where he is a student at Colorado State University.^[5]

Awards and decorations[link]

Giunta's military decorations include:^[34][35]

		100px
		100px

Medal of Honor citation[link]

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007. While conducting a patrol as team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, Specialist Giunta and his team were navigating through harsh terrain when they were ambushed by a well-armed and well-coordinated insurgent force. While under heavy enemy fire, Specialist Giunta immediately sprinted towards cover and engaged the enemy. Seeing that his squad leader had fallen and believing that he had been injured, Specialist Giunta exposed himself to withering enemy fire and raced towards his squad leader, helped him to cover, and administered medical aid. While administering first aid, enemy fire struck Specialist Giunta’s body armor and his secondary weapon. Without regard to the ongoing fire, Specialist Giunta engaged the enemy before prepping and throwing grenades, using the explosions for cover in order to conceal his position. Attempting to reach additional wounded fellow soldiers who were separated from the squad, Specialist Giunta and his team encountered a barrage of enemy fire that forced them to the ground. The team continued forward and upon reaching the wounded soldiers, Specialist Giunta realized that another soldier was still separated from the element. Specialist Giunta then advanced forward on his own initiative. As he crested the top of a hill, he observed two insurgents carrying away an American soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other. Upon reaching the wounded soldier, he began to provide medical aid, as his squad caught up and provided security. Specialist Giunta’s unwavering courage, selflessness, and decisive leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon’s ability to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American soldier from the enemy. Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, and the United States Army.^[36]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal

• Leroy Petry
• Dakota Meyer
• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of living Medal of Honor recipients

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salvatore Giunta

• United States Army website for SSG Giunta and the MOH action. Retrieved November 16, 2010
• United States Army Medal of Honor website
• The Sal Giunta Story Giunta interviewed by the directors of Restrepo. Retrieved November 16, 2010
• Interview at the Pritzker Military Library. Retrieved December 14, 2010

Jimmy Massey (born December 1, 1929 in Mebane, North Carolina, USA) is a retired NASCAR Grand National driver who has competed in 51 races (along with the 1955 Southern 500).^[1]

Career summary[link]

Out of these 51 races, there has been twelve finishes in the top-five and twenty-eight finishes in the top ten.^[1] Massey's total career earnings was considered to be $14,974 ($112,208.6 in today's money).^[1] A grand total of 6,638.7 miles (10,684.0 km) and 9891 laps were achieved in his seven-year on-and-off NASCAR Grand National career.^[1] By the end of the 1964 season, Jimmy ends up leading 33 laps and finishing one position better on average than he started.^[1] The majority of his races were down in Plymouth automobiles.^[2]

This NASCAR driver shares the same name as a Sheffield Wednesday F.C. competitor of the 1896 FA Cup Final (although they are completely unrelated to each other).

References[link]

This biographical article related to NASCAR is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

Barry Sadler
250px Sadler on the cover of the Ballad of the Green Berets LP.
Born	November 1, 1940 (1940-11) Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States
Died	November 5, 1989 (1989-11-06) (aged 49) Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	US Air Force US Army
Years of service	1957 - 1966
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	Special Forces
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

Barry Sadler (November 1, 1940 – November 5, 1989) was an American soldier, author and musician. Sadler served as a Green Beret medic with the rank of Staff Sergeant in the U.S. 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).

Background[link]

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 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, NM. He also owned several farms in the area. He describes his mother as managing restaurants and bars, and at times games in casinos.

Military service[link]

Enlistment[link]

Sadler dropped out of high school in Leadville, Colorado in the tenth grade. After a year of hitchhiking across the country, he enlisted at age 17 in the U.S. Air Force. He was trained as a radar technician and was stationed in Japan. At the end of his four year tour of duty, Sadler enlisted in the Army, seeking more excitement.

Wounded in action[link]

Following his airborne training, Sadler volunteered for the US Army's elite 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[link]

Sadler recorded his now-famous song, "The Ballad Of The Green Berets," a patriotic song in ballad style. 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 over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1] 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 debut 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.^[1]

Awards and decorations[link]

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: Air Force 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 possibly the South Vietnamese Parachutist Badge.^[2]

Later years[link]

Literary works[link]

Unable to score another major hit, although "The A-Team " was a Top 30 Billboard chart single in 1966, Sadler took to writing books. He chose to write about soldiers, but his series of novels took a turn far different from his music. His "Casca" series centers on the title character, Casca Rufio Longinius (a sort of combination of Saint Longinus and The Wandering Jew), who stabbed Christ during the crucifixion, and is cursed to remain a soldier eternally till the Second Coming. The series of novels takes Casca through to the 20th century. Sadler himself wrote only the first few, with the remainder of the original 22 books being farmed out by the publishers to other writers and issued under his name. Subsequent books have been written by different authors.

• List Of Works In The Casca Novel Series

Lee Emerson Bellamy[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

On December 1, 1978 at around 11pm, Sadler killed country songwriter Lee Emerson Bellamy with one gunshot to the head. The shooting was the culmination of a month's long dispute the men had over Darlene Sharp, who was Bellamy's former girlfriend, and Sadler's girlfriend 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 the 21 days already served in a Tennessee workhouse. Sadler was later sued for wrongful death by Bellamy's estate, and was ordered to pay restitution of around $10,000.

Death[link]

Sadler moved to Guatemala City in the mid 1980s and often hung out at a bar/restaurant called La Europa (also known as Freddie's Bar for 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.

It was in Guatemala City that he was shot in the head one night in a taxi. He was airlifted to the U.S. by friends from Soldier Of Fortune Magazine, where he was hospitalized and remained in a coma for several months. He died little more than a year later in the Alvin C. York Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The circumstances involving his shooting remain a mystery. It has been variously claimed that he committed suicide, that he shot himself accidentally while showing off to a female companion, and that he was assassinated for allegedly training and arming the Contras. The most common story identifies the incident as a robbery. According to his companion at the time, he had been training Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries and had received death threats.

Popular culture[link]

In Mitchell Freedman's alternative history novel A Disturbance of Fate (ISBN 1931643229), Barry Sadler becomes president in 1984 after serving two terms as governor of Arizona. In Freedman's scenario, Sadler carries out the agenda pursued by Ronald Reagan of promoting pro-business policies and personnel into federal posts. His use of the military promotes a second Civil War in 1986 (which Freedman's characters refer to as "the Great Struggle") which leads to the defeat of the forces under President Sadler's control. Sadler himself is captured in the novel after a failed suicide attempt and dies in 1991 of a heart attack while in solitary confinement.

The second verse of the Simon and Garfunkel song "A Simple Desultory Philippic" contains the line, "I've been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered."

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Official Casca website
• Barry Sadler at the Internet Movie Database
• Barry Sadler at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Barry Sadler at Allmusic
• Obituary
• Findagrave