21. Background to a Farce
American spectators thought the combat in Mexican Naco was exciting, but in April of 1929, things got too exciting. That was when the Mexican rebels hired a mercenary barnstormer pilot, an Irishman named Patrick Murphy, to drop homemade bombs on federales trenches. On April 2nd, 1929, Murphy dropped a pair of bombs near federales positions, but they turned out to be duds. Another attempt finally produced a strike on a Mexican customs house.
Shrapnel peppered crowds of American spectators gathered in nearby salons and clubs in Mexican Naco, causing them to rush back to the American side of the border. It has widely been rumored that Murphy was flying while drunk, which explains why, soon thereafter, he dropped a bomb on American Naco.