White Cross on Okinawa
Performed by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
There's a White Cross Tonight on Okinawa
Under Skies of Blue,
Worldly cares are through
High above Waves the Old Star-Spangled Banner
In his Memory, She'll be True
Some Mother's Heart knows full Sorrow
Silently her Prayers cross the Foam
There's a White Cross Tonight on Okinawa
And a Gold Star in some Mother's Home
Okinawa was the battle in which the Japanese first made major use of their kamikaze pilots and it was a war tactic that caused both fear and unbelief among the American soldiers. The Japanese indeed did a lot of damage and killed Americans, but there was nothing comparable in American history to match the wanton throwing away of lives in order to kill others.
It did fit in with the view of many at the time that the Japanese were subhuman, however, and this led to a great deal of vicious fighting and even souvenir hunting among the dead Japanese by American troops.
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