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'''Naco''', a [[Census-Designated Place]] (CDP) located in [[Cochise County, Arizona]], United States had a recorded population of 1,046 during the [[United States Census, 2010|2010 census]]. It's located directly across the [[United States–Mexico border]] from its sister city [[Naco, Sonora]]. The [[Naco Arizona Port of Entry|Naco port of entry]] is open 24 hours per day. Naco is best remembered for an accidental [[Bombing of Naco|1929 air raid]] and it holds the unfortunate distinction of being the first and only town in the Continental United States to have ever been [[Aerial bombing of cities|bombed by foreign aircraft]]. <ref name="Price, pg. 63-67">{{cite book|last=Price|first=Ethel Jackson|title=Sierra Vista: Young City with a Past |publisher=Arcadia|year=2003|isbn=0738524344}}</ref>
The present-day unincorporated town of Naco, Arizona, was established in the early 20th century. The area was originally settled by the Nahua and [[Opata people|Opata]] Indians. ''Naco'' means "[[nopal]] cactus" in the [[Opata language]].{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} The U.S. Congress officially established Naco as a [[Naco Arizona Port of Entry|Port of Entry]] on June 28, 1902.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Naco, Arizona Port of Entry: Archaeology on the Border|url=http://www.nps.gov/seac/naco/indexeng.htm|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|accessdate=4 November 2012}}</ref>
==1929 Air Raid==
The accidental 1929 [[Bombing of Naco]] by Irish-American mercenary [[Patrick Murphy (pilot)|Patrick Murphy]] is notable for being the first and only instance where a town in the Continental United States was bombed by aircraft working for a foreign Power.<ref name="Price, pg. 63-67">{{cite book|last=Price|first=Ethel Jackson|title=Sierra Vista: Young City with a Past |publisher=Arcadia|year=2003|isbn=0738524344}}</ref> The 1942 [[Lookout Air Raids]], when a Japanese [[floatplane]] pilot made two unsuccessful attempts to start forest fires in rural [[Oregon]], and the 1944-45 unmanned [[Fire Balloon]] attacks, also by the Japanese, are the only other cases of the Continental United States enduring aerial bombing by a foreign power. Such events are exceptionally rare in American history because during 20th century conflicts, most notably [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], the continental United States did not endure the large-scale [[Aerial bombing of cities|aerial bombings]] that devastated many Asian and European cities.
The background to the bombing of Naco started in early 1929, when José Gonzalo Escobar led a [[Escobar Rebellion|rebellion]] against the government of [[Emilio Portes Gil]]. Mexican federal troops dug in around [[Naco, Sonora]] (which bordered Naco, Arizona) and were almost under constant attack by the rebels. The battles became something of a spectator sport on the Arizona side of the border with people coming from as far as [[Bisbee, Arizona|Bisbee]] to watch. While the occasional stray bullet would send these spectators towards cover, both sides in the conflict were careful as they did not want [[U.S. Armed Forces]] coming across the border to retaliate.<ref name="eppinga"/>
Patrick Murphy was an aviator who owned his own bi-winged airplane and performed tricks with it. Murphy decided to help the rebels by offering to build homemade bombs and drop them on federal positions. His offer was accepted by the rebels, who promised a reward. The bombs were made by filling pipes with dynamite, scrap iron, nails and bolts then putting the pipes in old leather suitcases. Murphy made two attempts on 31 March and 1 April but the bombs failed to explode. A third bomb hit the customs house, spraying spectators on the Arizona side of the border. Murphy made four more bombs which were dropped between 4 and 6 April. The first hit a trench, killing two federal soldiers, but the other three inadvertently landed on the Arizona side of the border, hitting various buildings in Naco, Arizona. The next day, U.S. government troops arrived and disabled Murphy’s plane. Murphy escaped to Mexican rebel lines and crossed back to the U.S. when the rebellion ended, and was briefly jailed for his violation of neutrality laws. Murphy was the first person working for a foreign entity to bomb U.S. soil.<ref name="natgeo"/><ref name="eppinga"/>
==Geography==
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