Ep 178: The Bombing of Boise City

In July 1943, World War II was raging across the globe, patriotic fervor was at an all-time high, and Americans were doing everything they could to support the war effort. But for the small, sleepy agricultural town of Boise City, Oklahoma, the war hit a little too close to home—literally.

In this episode, Jess explores the bizarre, true story of how a rogue U.S. Army Air Corps B-17 bomber got hopelessly lost during a nighttime training run, mistook the lights of the Cimarron County Courthouse for its practice target, and launched a 30-minute aerial blitz on an unsuspecting American town. From a heroic power plant operator who saved the day by killing the lights, to a missing bomb hidden in a barn for over 70 years, to the flight crew’s journey from catastrophic blunder to decorated wartime heroes, this is one of the most unbelievable chapters in Oklahoma history…and certainly doesn’t skimp on the kooky and spooky!

Sources:

Cimarron Heritage Center
Time Magazine
The Saturday Evening Post
All That's Interesting
OHS
Boise City OK.org