NHL Quiz: 13 players have scored more than 600 goals. How
many can you name? Answer below.
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler
In honor of the tremendous job U.S. Special Forces are doing
over in Afghanistan, I thought I”d reprise a little piece I did
almost 3 years ago in this space, the story of Staff Sergeant Barry
Sadler and his hit single, “The Ballad of the Green Berets.”
Born in 1940, Sadler became a member of the Special Ops,
earning his Green Beret and serving mainly as a medic in
Vietnam. It was while he was recuperating from a leg wound
that he began writing the song that would make him famous.
Sadler had been inspired by a hit book by Robin Moore titled
“The Green Berets.” Moore actually wrote most of the lyrics,
with Sadler handling the music. And then in the spring of 1966,
the “Ballad of the Green Berets” rocketed up the billboard pop
chart, hitting #1 on March 5 and staying at the top for five weeks.
[The LP of the same title also went to #1.]
Sadler then largely disappeared until December 1978, when he
was involved in a shooting in Nashville that left a local
songwriter, Lee Bellamy, dead. The incident evidently occurred
over a woman, but Sadler was not charged. Then in 1981, he
was involved in another shooting (this time non-fatal) and in
justifying his plea of innocence he explained, “I”m a Green
Beret. If I”d shot him, he”d be dead.”
Unfortunately, in 1988 Sadler was shot in the head during a
robbery attempt while he was entering a cab in Guatemala. What
he was doing there is a mystery. Sadler said he was training
Contras, a story others have disputed. Anyway, he suffered some
brain damage and died a year later of heart failure in Tennessee.
Aside from his big moment in the music biz, Sadler also was a
highly successful author, penning some 22 novels based on a
mercenary figure. A large portion of his earnings went to a trust
fund he established for Vietnamese orphans.
And now I have an idea for those of you in sales, in particular.
Get your marketing or sales desk together and sing the following
as you start each week. I guarantee it will put you in such a great
frame of mind you”re bound to set all kinds of records.
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
Chorus:
Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America”s best
One hundred men will 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 peak from the Green Berets
Chorus:
Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America”s best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win 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 his 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”
—
Black Hawk Down
For those of you who might be going to see the flick “Black
Hawk Down” (which doesn”t have wide distribution until
Jan. 18), perhaps some of the following will help in fully
understanding the movie, though one hopes it”s explained pretty
well before the action starts.
Somalia Timeline
–January 1991: Dictator Siad Barre is forced out of Mogadishu.
General Aidid and his Somali National Movement (SNM) then
battle with other clans for power, which leads to famine and
lawlessness throughout much of the country. An estimated
300,000 die of starvation during the year of civil war that
followed Barre”s ouster.
–March 1992: The warlords sign a ceasefire agreement, which
includes provisions for a UN monitoring mission so
humanitarian assistance can be distributed.
–July 1992: 50 unarmed UN military observers are deployed to
Mogadishu to monitor the ceasefire. On August 15, UNOSOM I
begins (the UN Operation in Somalia for humanitarian relief).
But the mission gets quickly bogged down as relief supplies are
looted, food convoys hijacked and aid workers assaulted. The
UN appeals for military force.
–December 1992: With only weeks left in his term, President
George Bush proposes that US combat troops lead an
international UN force to secure the environment for relief
operations. On December 9, the first of 25,000 US troops land in
Somalia. Bush assures the American people the forces are there
to help starving Somalis and that they are supposed to be home
before Bill Clinton”s inaugural. The US-led United Task Force
is dubbed “Operation Restore Hope” (UNITAF).
–January 1993: Clinton takes over and, with US troops still in
Somalia, is anxious to bring them home. In March, the UN
authorizes UNOSOM II, an operation with expanded
enforcement power, with the mandate to disarm the Somali
people. The UN mission was to take over from UNITAF. The
UN is now involved in “nation building,” to restore order in
Somalia and establish a process for putting a new government in
place. By June, Clinton has reduced the US combat force to
1,200 with 3,000 support troops.
–June 5, 1993: 24 Pakistani soldiers are ambushed and
massacred during an inspection of a Somali weapons storage site.
The UN Security Council calls for the apprehension of those
responsible. General Aidid is implicated and is now sought. A
reward is offered for information leading to his arrest.
–June 12-16: US and UN troops begin attacking various targets
in Mogadishu associated with Aidid. The peacekeepers are now
at war with his forces.
–July 12: US forces attack a gathering of clan leaders, killing a
few. Four western journalists who had gone to investigate are
beaten to death by a mob.
–August 8: Four US military police are killed by a remote
detonated land mine set off by Somalis. Two weeks later, six
more US soldiers are wounded in a similar attack. Now the
American people are beginning to take notice and Task Force
Ranger is deployed.
–August 26: US Special Forces arrive – 440 elite Delta Force
and Rangers. Major General William Garrison commands the
mission to capture Aidid.
–September: The Clinton administration opens a secret initiative
to negotiate with Aidid, headed by former peanut farmer and
president, Jimmy Carter. But US military commanders in
Mogadishu are not informed of the initiative. Then, that same
month, US Defense Secretary Les Aspin denies requests from
commanders for armored reinforcements, despite support from
General Colin Powell (then chairman of the Joint Chiefs). Aspin
doesn”t want to create the appearance that the US was increasing
forces at a time when they were trying to reduce military
expenditures. In other words, he was a freakin” classic
bureaucrat. Aspin later conceded, “Had I known at the time what
knew after the events of Sunday (October 3), I would have made
a very different decision.” In December he is forced to resign.
–October 3-4: Task Force Ranger assaults the Olympic Hotel in
Mogadishu, in search for Aidid. All hell breaks loose in a
seventeen-hour battle, with 18 US soldiers losing their lives.
[Hundreds of Somali rebels are killed.] Clinton decides to cut
and run and the search for Aidid is abandoned. General Garrison
accepts responsibility for what happened. By March 1994, all
US forces are out. General Aidid dies on August 1, 1995 from
injuries received during an outbreak of fighting in Mogadishu.
[Source: PBS” “Frontline”]
The Fantasticks
The musical, that is. The Fantasticks is staging its final
performance on January 13, after 42 years and over 17,000
performances, due to dwindling sales and rising costs.
Long ago the show became the longest running musical in
history, playing at the 150-seat Sullivan Street Playhouse in
Greenwich Village, but investors never earned more than
$51,000 in a single year.
In reading a piece for Crain”s New York, I just wanted to share a
few tidbits which shed light on just how difficult it is to make
money in this business. Just one out of ten shows ever recoup
their investment and, in the case of the Fantasticks, most of the
money that was earned was from record sales and royalty-paying
productions in the U.S. and abroad.
Initially, 44 backers put in a total of $16,500, with producer Lore
Noto (now 78), selling shares for as little as $5 just to get it off
the ground. Today, weekly costs had escalated to $20,000
(including for rent, salaries, benefits and insurance).
[Overall, Broadway is really suffering, post-9/11.]
Stuff
–Oops, the StocksandNews jinx once again took hold, as the
very Butler basketball team I just praised lost to Wright State!
Geezuz, how can that happen? [I have a good friend who has
threatened to kill me if I mention the Steelers the rest of this
season.hold on.the office doorbell is ringing.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/2/71: #1 “My Sweet Lord”
(George Harrison) #2 “One Less Bell To Answer” (The 5th
Dimension) #3 “Knock Three Times” (Dawn)
NHL Quiz Answers: All-time goal scorers (thru Jan. 2).
Wayne Gretzky (894) Gordie Howe (801) Marcel Dionne (731)
Phil Esposito (717) Mike Gartner (708) Brett Hull (661) Mark
Messier (658) Steve Yzerman (656) Mario Lemieux (649) Bobby
Hull (610) Luc Robitaille (609) Dino Ciccarelli (608) Jari Kurri
(601).
Next Bar Chat, Monday. Snow tales…and the beaver.
