Oklahoma town bombed during WWII

You might not believe it, but Oklahoma holds a record nobody really wanted. It’s home to the only American town bombed by the US during World War II.

That’s right. Boise City, way out in the Panhandle, got hit by our own bombs one summer night in 1943.

The Night the Bombs Fell on Boise City

It started like any other small-town evening. A few folks eating late at the diner, others sitting on porches trying to catch a breeze. Then, just after midnight, the roar of a bomber swept over town. Moments later, an explosion ripped through a nearby garage.

A literal bomb had fallen right through the roof.

A Midnight Mix-Up Over the Oklahoma Panhandle

At first, everyone thought it had to be some kind of training gone wrong. Turns out, that’s exactly what it was. A B-17 crew out of Dalhart, Texas, was supposed to be on a nighttime practice run. But with blackout conditions across the Plains, they mistook Boise City’s glowing courthouse square for their target range.

Six bombs fell that night. One near the church, a few out on the edges of town. Miraculously, no one was killed. The “bombs” were mostly practice rounds, just enough dynamite to make a mess, but not level a town.

Six Bombs, One Miracle

The next morning, the Army showed up to apologize and pay damages, about twenty-five bucks. And that was that.

But here’s the wild part. The same bomber crew that accidentally bombed Boise City went on to fly one of the biggest daylight raids over Berlin the following year. All ten men survived and became one of the most decorated crews of the war.

So yeah… even when you drop the ball, or the bomb, in this case, there’s always a comeback story waiting.