Ballad of the Green Berets by Sgt. Barry Sadler (CD, Dec-2004, Collectors' Choice Music)

Barry and I went through the Special Forces Training Group together in 1963. He used to sing for our company formation every Friday afternoon to keep us out of the traffic jams departing Ft Bragg, NC. He gave me an original album many years ago at Fort Devens, MA. This is a CD of that album and whenever I play it, I remember my deceased friend and the good times we had. Barry also gave me 2 45 RPM records of a couple of other songs that he wrote that never went on sale over the counter. One of them is a real tear jerker about departed Special Forces soldier that he calls by name in a roll call at Arlington National Cemetery's Vietnam Memorial. Those are priceless and I will never part with them in his memory.

I considered this CD a treasure when I located it because I had looked for it over the years without success, and the songs transport me back to bittersweet times. Occasionally some of the words would come to mind, but my own voice never did justice to the sincerity and emotion conveyed by Sgt. Sadler!

Even with the $6.99 s&h mentioned in a previous review (which, by the way, DID bring the CD to me quickly and efficiently), it is still worth every penny - and purchased for less than I have spent on other music.

On this CD, Sgt. Sadler has brought us so much more than music - indeed, (in my humble opinion), music is NOT its strongest point! There is the hope expressed in "Letter from Vietnam", the poignancy of "Lullaby", melancholy of "I'm Watching the Raindrops Fall", foibles expressed in "Bamiba" and "Saigon", the jaunty "Garet Trooper", the tribute in "Salute to the Nurses", the courage in the "Ballad of the Green Berets" - these are the things that render it timeless. Though the exotic names of places mentioned in "Saigon" have morphed into sometimes equally exotic-sounding names of Middle Eastern locales, I think it would be a hard heart that wasn't moved by the offerings on this CD. Vietnam - an "unpopular war." But is war ever truly "popular"? I believe it is the Men and Women Who Serve that we honor, as well as the freedoms which our country still enjoys, whether or not we agree with the immediate/current cause. "Ballad of the Green Berets" is a CD that expresses the gamut of emotions that bring home the reasons for that honor - for the sake of those who have fallen and for those who still serve.

i bought this cd because it was a favorite album of my father, and it brings back warm memories of times past. the things i didn't like about this transaction was the shipping charges...over 7 dollars for one cd? excessive would be an appropriate word to describe it. also, it took almost three weeks to deliver merchandise due to ebayer not having article "on-hand". in other words, selling stuff they actually do not have. the last issue i had with this transaction was the absence of feedback from seller; they are one of these ebayers that doesn't believe fast payment constitutes a quick and positive feedback for the buyer. i assume they are one of these very few that wait until they recieve positive feedback to give theirfeedback. my opinion is as soon as the buyer gives prompt payment as instructed, then he should get postive feedback because his part of the transaction has been fulfilled. ebay is a wonderful 'thing' and the majority of my association with ebay has been enjoyable. this transaction in my opinion is in a very small minority of ebayers that should find another venue.

LOVE THE GREEN BERETS ALBUM WHICH I HAVE I BOUGHT WHEN FIRST CAME OUT I BEEN WANTING TO HAVE A CD MADE OF IT BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GET ONE MADE I SEEN THIS CD ON EBAY AND I WAS HAPPY TO SEE IT AND I HAD TO HAVE IT I DON'T DISLIKE NOTHING ABOUT IT I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT SGT. BARRY SADLER FROM PEOPLE WHO HAD HIS CD FOR SALE I DIDN'T KNOW HE GOT KILLED I LOVE THE SONGS ON IT IT CAME OUT I THINK WHEN I WENT IN THE ARMY 1966 OR AFTER I CAME OUT OF SERVICE I USED TO PLAY IT A LOT THEN. THANKS

I bought it as a gift for my mother. It is an album she listened to all the time when I was a child. The cd itself was great, the packaging to ship it was not good and caused the case to get cracked in the mailing to me. Luckily the cd itself was ok, it just made it embarrassing to give a broken case'd cd as a gift.

I love this song so long time since it was on air.
specially The Ballad of green berets.
The singer SGT Sadler was attended that damm war.
We lost a lot of freiends and brothers in that war.

I strongly suggest purchase of this album to Music Fans and Historians alike. The CD contains both the transpirent notes of Sgt.Sadler, but also reveals the history of when those notes were first recorded. Each song on the CD is dynamic, and for the average price at which this is offered, it is well worth it. Grab this piece of both musical history and American History while you still have the opportunity.

This was played in my childhood home over and over again by an older sibling during a time when the Vietnam War was at it's peak.....I purchased it for my sibling for his Christmas stocking. For those that remember the Vietnam Era it was a very uncertain time and this Green Beret brought it all home to us. Have been trying to find this for years....to all Vietnam Vets...THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE....AND TO ALL VETS THANK YOU FOR MY FREEDOM!!

Exactly what I ordered, fast will use again ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Was given a copy of the original album by my Uncle Leroy Harrisson and Barry Sadler back in 1967 when they were serving together in Vietnam. Has personal memories. Thanks

I was very suprised that I was able to find this CD. It was out in album style when I bought it in the early seventies. It cam in CD form, and Unopened!!! This was a Nam. era record that I understood what he was singing about. This album is very sincere. Thank you.