War's Cross

Annotation

The pro-Calley song "War's Cross" (Skylite # SR-1105) by the Senators, of the country music genre, also compared Calley to the plight of Jesus, as seen on the 7" cover, which showed a soldier struggling to carry a wooden cross. Once again, like many of the songs above, it argued that Calley had only followed orders and therefore should not be held responsible for My Lai: "his orders were to shoot on sight". While being a pro-soldier song, it did not take a pro-government foreign policy or anti-war position, but rather offered a US domestic perspective on the massacre. Released in Tennessee, United States; written by Jerry Free, Jack Rule, and Bettye Orr, and produced by Joel Gentry. The lyrics made an interesting reference to US soldiers being sent to Vietnam in 1954 - the First Indo-China War between the French and Vietnamese took place from around 1946 up to the Geneva Conference in 1954. From that point onwards the US Eisenhower administration attached American foreign policy to preserving the Southern part of Vietnam and so US involvement started from around 1954-1955.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

The pro-Calley song "War's Cross" (Skylite # SR-1105) by the Senators, of the country music genre, also compared Calley to the plight of Jesus, as seen on the 7" cover, which showed a soldier struggling to carry a wooden cross. Once again, like many of the songs above, it argued that Calley had only followed orders and therefore should not be held responsible for My Lai: "his order were to shoot on sight". While being a pro-soldier song, it did not take a pro-government foreign policy or anti-war position, but rather offered a US domestic perspective on the massacre. Released in Tennessee, United States; written by Jerry Free, Jack Rule, and Bettye Orr, and produced by Joel Gentry. The lyrics made an interesting reference to US soldiers being sent to Vietnam in 1954 - the First Indo-China War between the French and Vietnamese took place from around 1946 up to the Geneva Conference in 1954. From that point onwards the US Eisenhower administration attached American foreign policy to preserving the Southern part of Vietnam and so US involvement started from around 1954-1955.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Back in 1954, some of our soldiers went to war / Vietnam was the place... / Calley's fate was to be ? cross / Set him free / Must Calley bear war's cross alone... / No, there's a cross for everyone / And there's even one for me... / His orders were to shoot on sight / And guard his men with all his might Back in 1954, some of our soldiers went to war / Vietnam was the place... / Calley's fate was to be ? cross / Set him free / Must Calley bear war's cross alone... / No, there's a cross for everyone / And there's even one for me... / His order were to shoot on sight / And guard his men with all his might

Notes

Skylite SR-1105, gold label, Side A; "War's Cross" (Jerry Free, Jack Rule, Bettye Orr), 2:34, Mt. Paran BMI; produced by Joel E. Gentry. The picture sleeve ("War's Cross / This Is Our Land", with "The Senators" in script) shows a line drawing, signed "Jud Phillips", of a helmeted soldier carrying a large wooden cross before a waving flag. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

My Lai · Patriotic · Pro-Calley · Calley-Jesus · Pro-Soldier

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]