Marker Text:
BOISE CITY BOMBED
JULY 5, 1943
STILL BOOMING
JULY 5, 1993Some insight into the event:
[Boise City, Oklahoma was one of three cities in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town. The practice bombs weighed 100 pounds each and contained four pounds of powder - the rest was sand. Several locations across town display the remains of these bombs.
The next day, officials from the Dalhart Army Air Base visited Boise City and explained that the plane had been assigned to drop bombs on a range near Conlen, Texas, about 30 miles south of Boise City, but somehow got off their mark and mistook the four street lights around the courthouse in the center of town for the lights of their target.
Remember the Alamo, remember Pearl Harbor, and for Lord's sake - - remember Boise City!"]
About the town:
Boise City- rhymes with "voice"-became the county seat in 1908, a year after statehood. It is believed to have been named after the Boyce Cattle Company which operated in the area from 1897 to 1906. The Cimarron County Court- house is on the Register of National Historic Places. Remember the 4-way stop and one way to the right!