Back in WW2, the U.S. accidentally dropped six practice bombs on a small Oklahoma town. This is a short video version of The Night We Bombed Ourselves!
(Note: We realized after releasing this video that “Boise City” is pronounced incorrectly. We pronounced it “Boy-see City”, similar to the city in Idaho. Boise City, Oklahoma is actually pronounced “BOYSS City.” Sorry about that!)
Bibliography
Amarillo Globe Times (Amarillo, TX). “Boise City Is Mistaken for Bomb Range.” July 7, 1943.
Census record for E.B. McMahan, Year: 1940; Census Place: Boise City, Cimarron, Oklahoma; Roll: m-t0627-03284; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 13-1.
El Paso Herald-Post (El Paso, TX). “Plane That Dropped Practice Bombs at Sierra Blanca Unidentified.” July 17, 1944.
Hamilton, Arnold. “Town to Mark Anniversary of Mistaken WWII Bombing.” Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX). June 27, 1993.
Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE). “Six Bombs Fall on Tarnov, Platte village at 4:15 a.m.” August 16, 1943.
Lincoln Star (Lincoln, NE). “Planes ‘Bomb’ Tarnov Home.” August 18, 1943.
Media Sources
“Carlsbad, New Mexico. AT-11 training bombers at the United States Army Air forces advanced flying school dropping practice bombs” (1943). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017871966/
“Cimarron County Courthouse” (2009). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cimarron_County_Courthouse.jpg
“Dust storm. Boise City, Oklahoma” (1936). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017760350/
“Pearl Harbor: Spring of 1942” (1942). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2663369