This popped up on the ipod this morning, and I realised I'd never seen footage of the song. But here it is, in all its 1966 glory.
If I was watching this as a child I think I might have been quite scared. Look at that silhouette! But this song, as the Vietnam War was in its infancy, was a US number one for Ssgt Barry Sadler, yes, a real life soldier.
It's a very stirring, ultra-jingoistic call to arms, and you can see why so many volunteered. How different things were by the end of the decade. By the way, where are all the anti-war songs today? No one really cares very much about anything anymore do they?
Anyway, Barry Sadler was shot and killed during a robbery at his home in Guatemala or Honduras in the Seventies, which is a sad end for one so brave.
