"The Ballad of the Green Berets."
Fighting soldiers from the sky,
Fearless men who jump and die,
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret.
Silver wings upon their chests,
These are men, America's best,
One hundred men we'll test today,
But only three win the Green Beret.
Trained to live off nature's land,
Trained in combat, hand to hand,
Men who fight by night and day,
Courage take from the Green Beret.
Silver wings upon their chests,
These are men, America's best,
Men who mean just what they say,
The brave men of 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.
Fighting soldiers from the sky,
Fearless men who jump and die,
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret.
Silver wings upon their chests,
These are men, America's best,
One hundred men we'll test today,
But only three win the Green Beret.
Army Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler helped write "The
Ballad of the Green Berets" while recuperating from a leg wound suffered
during his service as a medic in the Vietnam War. He later sang the tune
on a record that became the nation's No. 1 hit for five weeks in 1966 and
eventually sold 9 million singles and albums.
These are the words to the popular anthem of the
Special Forces:
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