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Sadler's 'Ballad of the Green Berets' was No. 1 50 years ago

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Barry Sadler
Songwriter and Vietnam vet Barry Sadler, who wrote and recorded the hit "The Ballad of the Green Berets," is seen in this undated photo.
AP file

Today's Morning Edition music is from the "Ballad of the Green Berets," which was No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart 50 years ago today.

It was written and performed by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler while he was recovering from a leg wound sustained during the war in Vietnam. Sadler was a medic in the U.S. Army Special Forces also known as the Green Berets.

He wrote the song in honor of another Green Beret, James Gabriel Jr., the first native Hawaiian to die while fighting in the Vietnam War.