Archive for July 8th, 2010
2 items.
Texas Bombs Oklahoma 67th Anniversary
Ever wonder why Oklahomians have such a grudge against Texans? And I’m not refering to the intense Texas vs Oklahoma football rivalries either. No this tension stims way back to the WWII erra. Back when Texas bombed Oklahoma.
That’s right kids, back in the year 1943 four B-17 bombers from the Delhart Army Air Base in Texas bombed little ol Boise City, Oklahoma.
“The air raid continued for thirty long minutes as the townspeople rushed for cover. The first bomb thundered through the roof of a garage and exploded, digging a four-foot deep hole in the floor. The B-17 made another pass and dropped a second bomb that struck the white framed Baptist church, exploding beside the building and breaking out several windows. The crater was three feet deep.”
Luckly there where no fatalities:
“While the bombing left numerous craters in the town, no one was actually injured. The bombs were 100-pound practice explosives. Each bomb was filled with four pounds of dynamite and ninety pounds of sand. There was no damage besides the garage and the church, and a few deep craters in the city.
This accidental bombing made Boise City famous; it is the only continental American town to be bombed during World War II. The estimated property damage to the city? Less than $25.”
In truth it was all an accident, and 67 years later we can all laught at it. The bombing crew that had made a 45-mile mistake went on to lead an 800-plane daylight raid on Berlin and became one of the most decorated of World War II. All of the crewmembers survived the war and one crewmember even went on to marry a Boise City Girl.
