Posted on 03/17/2026 5:47:17 AM PDT by 11th_VA
Exactly 60 years ago today, on March 11, 1966, a song that was widely embraced at the time was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. While ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler was a huge success, the track would ultimately earn a reputation as one of the most divisive No. 1 songs in U.S. chart history.
Released in January 1966, SSgt. Barry Sadler’s ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ quickly caught on with many listeners. After the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 5, 1966, it reached No. 1 on March 5 and held that position for five weeks. That means that 60 years ago today, on March 11, 1966, the track was dominating the charts.
In addition to reigning supreme over the charts in March 1966, the song would enjoy a staggering amount of sales success for much longer than that. After all, it spent a total of 13 weeks on the charts in total, and History.com reported that ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ became “Billboard magazine’s #1 single for all of 1966.“
…
It is only for when you are dressed up isn’t it?
In the military when you are dressed up a hat is part of bringing the uniform and the look together, along with easily recognized important information, and you don’t salute unless your head is covered.
I never did military work while wearing the class A uniform, for me it was dress up for traveling.
Thank God that the neo-Marxist-tilted popular culture is dying. Jesse Jackson, divider, preceded Obama, the divider in chief.
Sgt. Pepper is Gen. Walter Bedell Smith; "The one and only Billy Shears" is the diplomat William C. Bullitt, and the "friends" include Sens. Robert Taft, Joe McCarthy and Arthur Vandenberg as well as Secretary of Defense James Forrestal and CIA Director Hoyt Vandenberg.
I wonder if this is what the Beatles actually had in mind when they cooked up the song?
Jesse “Hymietown” Jackson has Passed on to his reward.
We loved the caves. Can’t wait to go back.
“It got a reference in Don MacLean’s “American Pie”:
Well the halftime air was sweet perfume
While sargeants played a marching tune...”
I always thought the sergeants playing a marching tune was a reference to the Beatles Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band...
In March 1966, my only brother was in Hawaii with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division, going through advanced jungle warfare training before heading to Vietnam for a year in April 1966. I have the Sergeant’s recording of The Ballad of the Green Berets on one of the USB sticks I use in my car.
Yes, that is what it refers too.
Brits and other countries wore and still do wear berets of different colors. According to Wikipedia: “ Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly within Europe, South America, and Asia, have influenced the push to the left (i.e. ‘French pull’).”
Very overrated Album.
I agree that of all the Beatles albums it is the one that has aged the worst. Although at the time it was a big deal.
The Ballad of the Leatherneck Corps by Herman Wouk
Oh, the wind blows cold in Iceland but the
wind's blown cold before,
And it's not so hard in your own backyard
to be set for peace or war.
But to fight for right and freedom, and to
keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title of United
States Marine.
Oh, the wind blows cold in Iceland but the
wind's blown cold before,
And it's not so hard in your own backyard
to be set for peace or war.
But to strike a blow on a distant foe is a
job for The LEATHERNECK CORPS.
Where are you heading Leatherneck?
I'm off to Tripoli son! It's someplace in
Africa, don't know where,
But an ornery pirate gang is there,
And we're under orders to sweep it bare of
each pirate son-of-a-gun.
So off they went, it was eighteen five,
And they piled in there with a mighty
drive 'Til hardly a pirate was left alive.
And, Jefferson said: "Well done."
Oh the shore is strange in Iceland,
But the shore's been strange before.
And the folks at home don't have to roam,
To be set for peace or war.
But to challenge fear when it's far from
here, Is a job for the LEATHERNECK CORPS.
Where are you heading, Leatherneck?
I'm off to Sumatra, son.
The natives there are a savage lot,
Our ships have been sunk, and our sailors
shot. And, that place which they tell me is
burning hot. It will be hotter before we're done.
So, off they went, back in thirty-two,
And vengeance was had for each murdered
crew and over the isle Old Glory Flew.
And Jackson said: "Well done."
Oh the sea is rough off Iceland,
But the sea's been rough before.
There are no rough seas where you sit at
ease. All set for peace or war.
But to face a foe half the world away,
Is a job for The LEATHERNECK CORPS.
Where are you heading Leatherneck?
I'm off to China, son!
A bunch of Boxers are raising hob,
They're killing Christians this crazy mob,
So the U.S. Marines have got a job
And this one looks like fun.
So in nineteen hundred they sailed away,
And fought the Boxers in old Cathay.
Pagodas crashed and they won the day.
And McKinley wired: "Well done."
Oh the gale roars high in Iceland,
But the gale's roared high before.
And it's cozy here, by the hearthside cheer,
To be set for peace or war.
But to make a stand, in a far off land,
Is a job for the LEATHERNECK CORPS!
Where are you heading Leatherneck?
I'm off to Iceland son!
There's trouble brewing across the map,
And it may or may not be our scrap,
But we ain't gonna wait til it's in our lap!
We'll head it off on the run!
So off they march at a soldier's pace,
And, we pray that they have no fight to face
But they've gone there anyway just in case.
And America says: "Well done."
Oh the nights may be long in Iceland,
But the nights been long before.
And it's not so hard in your own backyard,
To be set for peace or war.
But to beat the worst, by arriving first,
Is a job for The LEATHERNECK CORPS!
Abbey Road, Revolver, Rubber Soul, and an 18 Song White Album blow it away,”.
You must be old too.
A piss cutter was my headgear of choice.
I hates me wearing a hat in the 1st place!
This is the simplest design going! Not even a bill!
You’ll have to ask someone else what its other name was ‘cause its not very nice.
+1
I still have the album.
From Wikipedia:
Sadler moved to Guatemala City in 1984. He continued to write and publish... On September 7, 1988, he was shot in the head while sitting in a cab in Guatemala City. His manager, family, and friends believed it to be a robbery. Sadler was flown to the United States by friends in a private jet.He underwent surgery at the Nashville VA Hospital, and remained in a coma for about six weeks. After emerging from the coma, Sadler was a quadriplegic and had suffered significant brain damage. He was released in January 1989, but his family reported him missing. A dispute over who would be his legal guardian erupted between his wife and mother and resulted in a judge mandating a psychiatric evaluation. A few days later, he was found in time to be present at a competency hearing.
After being moved to the Cleveland VA Hospital for specialized treatment, he was removed from the hospital by two former Green Berets and his mother, Blanche (Bebe) Sadler. After a contentious court battle waged by his wife and children, a court in Tennessee ruled that Sadler be put under the care of an independent guardian. He was moved to the VA Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in February 1989, but he never recovered from his injury. He died there of cardiac arrest on November 5, 1989, four days after his 49th birthday. Sadler was survived by his wife, Lavona, a daughter, Brooke, and two sons, Thor and Baron.
His mother sounds evil.
Not necessarily. I've seen the best and also the worst in mothers, fathers, husbands and in wives when volunteering at Walter Reed. Apparently there were problems with both mother and wife, since the judge appointed altogether else as caretaker.
Sad story, but when you think about it, he left a lasting impression on the whole world and his life had tremendous meaning and impact. We all come and go, but it is what we leave behind that is important. This man had a sad ending, but still after sixty years, he is still remembered. Thanks for the posting.
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