1. Barry Sadler’s parents divorced before he was five. Soon after that, his father died of cancer. His mother Bebe was no June Cleaver. She worked in bars and brothels all over the West before settling in Leadville, Colorado.
2. With a largely physically and emotionally absent mother, Barry spent countless hours with his best friend, Delfino Gomez, and his large Mexican-American family in Leadville. The boys were practically like brothers. He also spent many nights under the protective wing of “Ma” Brown, the Madame at the brothel at the infamous Pioneer Bar in Leadville.
3. Barry was constantly in minor trouble with the law during his teen-aged years, but had the good sense to quit high school after his junior year and join the U.S. Air Force in the summer of 1958.
4. He served four years in the U.S.A.F. as a radar technician. He also earned his GED, got a tattoo (a panther on his arm), and became a martial arts expert during his year in Japan.
