Boise City, Oklahoma: The Night America Bombed Its Own Town

It's just past midnight on July 5th, 1943, in Boise City, Oklahoma, and Forrest Bork is sound asleep above his post office on the courthouse square when the explosion hits. The whole building shakes. Bork jolts awake, thinking one thing. Someone's cracking the safe downstairs. He creeps to his window in the dark, and there's already a group of men in the alley, staring at his garage across the way. The doors have been blown clean open. There's a crater in the dirt three and a half feet deep. TIMELINE 1890: Nobody really wanted it. 1943: right in the middle of World War II, United States military forces accidentally bombed Boise City, Oklahoma. WHY THIS MATTERS The story of Boise City is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know. Episode 182 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters If you liked this: Episode 174 (Osage County, Oklahoma) Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-historyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy