Plaque, replica bomb and crater in Boise City, Oklahoma "commemorating" an event in World War II. It is located in front of the Chamber of Commerce Caboose located at 6 N.E. Square in Boise City. The following newspaper article in The Oklahoman, published November 21, 1990 12:00 AM CDT - (
visit link) , the daily regional paper for Oklahoma City and environs, recalls the bombing run a B-17 made on the town of Boise City. The pocket park commemorates the event.
"BOISE CITY (AP) Residents here want former crew members of a B-17 that bombed their town during World War II to help commemorate the event.
"I guess no one really wants to admit to being on that plane," Boise City attorney Stan Manske said. "They shouldn't worry about it.
No one around here is mad ... any more."
On July 5, 1943, an Army Air Corps training unit stationed at Dalhart, Texas about 30 miles south of this Oklahoma Panhandle town set out for a lighted practice field roughly 20 miles northeast of Dalhart.
The unit's navigator made a mistake and took the lights in the Boise City courthouse for the target.
The plane dropped six 100-pound practice bombs, loaded with four pounds of dynamite and 90 pounds of sand, on Boise City.
"They did pretty darn good," Manske said. "Although none of the bombs hit the courthouse, all of them were within 93 feet.
"If they had been using real bombs, I guess there wouldn't be a Boise City any more. I would imagine people would have relocated."
For years, it was believed Boise City was the only documented case of a city in the contiguous United States being bombed from the air.
But chamber of commerce officials since have found several other such bombings, although it is not clear if any of them involved a town.
One of the Boise City bombs did not explode and has been kept by residents. They recently cleaned the bomb up and painted it.
"I know it probably wasn't funny that night but now it brings a smile to people's faces," Manske said.
The town of about 1,700 is raising money to put a monument to the bombing in the courthouse square this summer. City officials want to install the remaining bomb and newspaper clippings about the bombing at the monument.
The chamber of commerce is planning a 50th anniversary celebration.
It's looking for addresses to which it can deliver invitations to the B-17 crew.
"We've done our best to locate these guys," Manske said. "I guess they are a little reluctant."
"We'll have quite a shindig out here," he said. "Sure wish those guys would come on out.""