The veteran you mention apparently is in error...this is from the Wikipedia entry found by google.
History
In 1926, the first municipal airport in Boise was built on a gravel bed where the
Boise State University campus now stands. The first commercial airmail flight in the United States passed through this airfield on
April 26,
1926, carried by
Varney Airlines. Varney Airlines began operating out of Boise in 1933, later merging with
National Air Transport to become
United Airlines. With United Airlines able to trace its roots to Varney, United is recognized as the airline that has operated the longest out of Boise, 80 years as of 2006. This airfield also played host to
Charles Lindbergh's
Spirit of St. Louis on
September 4,
1927.
[4] The current airport has its origins in 1936 when Boise began buying and leasing land for the airport. By 1938, Boise had the longest runway in the United States at that time, 8,800 feet (2,680 m). The steel
hangar for Varney Airlines was moved to the present field in 1939. As the size of aircraft grew, the hangar was no longer able to hold aircraft and was converted into a passenger terminal. It was part of the modern
terminal facility until the completion of a new terminal in 2004.
During
World War II, the
Army Air Corps leased the field for use a training base for
B-17 Flying Fortress and
B-24 Liberator bomber crews. More than 6,000 men were stationed there during the War.
[4] The field was named Gowen Field on
July 23,
1941 after Lt. Paul R. Gowen (1909-1938), who was born and raised in
Caldwell, attended the
University of Idaho, and graduated ninth in his class at
West Point in 1933. Gowen was killed instantly in a crash in
Panama in July 1938 while piloting a twin-engine
B-10 bomber for the
Army Air Corps. The right engine failed shortly after take-off from Albrook Field, near
Panama City. The other two crew members, navigator and radio operator, survived and crawled from the wreckage with burns.
[6] After the war, the portion of the field used by the Air Corps was returned to the city.
[4] The Idaho Air National Guard began leasing the airfield after the war and continues to lease it currently.
[4] The Boise Airport was ranked fourth in passenger satisfaction in the
J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Global Airport Satisfaction Index Study.
[7] The Boise Airport serves as a focus city for
Big Sky Airlines and
Horizon Air.History
I see nothng that says any B-17s were manufactured at Gwen.
I worked at Boeing Renton and lived in Bellevue,Washington for three years....I suggest your veteran is in error...the three factories building B-17s were Boeing at Seattle, Douglas in Santa Monica and Vega at Burbank, Ca.
Jim :-)
James S. Peters Sr. T/Sgt
B-17 Flt Engr, 27 missions
99 BG, 348BS, 5th Wing, 15th AAF
Tortorella, (Foggia#2), Italy
My Tour was from 12/03/44-06/19/45
M/Sgt USAF (Retired)