T/Sgt. Cruz Escoto Nogales – Born May 03rd 1920, in High Rolls, NM
Cruz Nogales was the seventh child of Inez and Damacio Nogales and joined the rest of the family in their home at High Rolls, NM on May 3rd, 1920. He went to the local grammar school and attended and graduated from Alamogordo High School. In December of 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Cruz was working as a hull riveter for Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego, CA. Like many of the men his age he was called into service in late 1942.
During early basic training, Cruz was subjected to a battery of “aptitude tests”, where it was determined that he should be assigned to Sioux Falls, SD. This was the location of the Army Air Force Technical Training School for Radio Operations. After completing radio school Cruz received the rank of Staff Sergeant and was assigned to a B-24 Liberator training base in McCook, Nebraska. Here he trained to be a 4-engine B-24 radio operator and aerial gunner.
In late 1943 a new bomb group was established called the 493rd Bomb Group and he was assigned to pilot Lt Roy Murphy with 8 other airmen and trained for 4 months. During May of 1944 the crews and staff of the 493rd Bomb Group was transferred to a newly constructed Army Air Base in the area of Debach, England.
The first combat mission for Cruz, Murphy and crew was on June 20th, 1944, and the target was German V1 rocket launch platforms in northern France. Unfortunately, the weather over France turned cloudy and the bomb squadron returned to base without dropping their ordnance. The next three bombing missions were in Northern France attacking V1 rocket sites and Luftwaffe air bases.
Fallersleben, Germany 29 Jun 44 – The target was in the heart of Germany! Mission for today the destruction of a Junkers aircraft components (Volkswagen) plant. During the bomb run, with the bomb bays open, the flak was heavy and accurate. Suddenly the B-24 right in front of Murphy’s aircraft received a direct flak hit in the open bomb bay just after the bombs were released! The aircraft named “Little Warrior”, piloted by Lt. John H Hansen, was enveloped in smoke and flames. The plane fell from sky and all 10 airmen that Cruz trained with during the last six months were killed.
The next 4 missions for Cruz and the Murphy crew were against various V1 rocket sites (northern France) and a Luftwaffe airfield in Montdidier, France. No issues were encountered.
Caen, France 19 Jul 44 - The 493rd Bomb Group, sent 4 squadrons to attack German artillery batteries that were facing the British and Canadian positions. Forty–two B-24s, each fully loaded with 52 x 100lb bombs, attacked German artillery installations that would have caused major casualties to advancing British and Canadian forces.
Operation Cobra 25 July 44 - The 493rd joined the entire 8th Air Force on Operation Cobra, the saturation bombing of enemy positions near Saint-Lo, France. Throughout England, American bomber groups combined to form a total of 1,400 heavy bombers, all headed right across the channel to saturate bomb a strip of land and destroy an entire German Panzer division. T/ Sgt Cruz Nogales had no way to know his nephew, Lt Ramon Flores was flying on the same mission. Even more remarkable was the fact that his brother, Pfc Frank Nogales was in Saint-Lo waiting to move out towards the target area once the 8th Air Force bombers had cleared the way. Frank had a “birds’ eye” view of the bombers as they destroyed the German positions.
August 1944 - The month of July ended with Cruz and the crew having completed 11 missions. With the exception of two, all missions had been against targets in northern France. This was to continue into August with all but one mission being against tactical targets (railroad hubs, key road hubs, oil storage units, etc.) in northern France. The goal was to make life miserable for the Wehrmacht units as they attempted to counter the Allied troops in Normandy.
During the end of August, the 493rd bomb group would transition from B-24 Liberators to B-17G Flying Fortresses. After a training period, during which no combat missions were flown, the 493rd BG group reverted back to combat status (8 Sept 44) flying only B-17s.
Ludwigshafen, Germany 13 Sep 44 - The target was the I.G. Farben Chemical works facility located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. As Lt Murphy turned into the bomb run, the flak became intense. Suddenly, a major impact was felt that lifted the left wing up and pushed the aircraft to the right. Wow, what the hell just happened. The B-17 had taken a direct hit on the left wing!! Miraculously the wing did not sheer off and the plane was piloted back to the airbase by Murphy.
The huge explosion in the wing sent a shrapnel piece through the radio room and struck Cruz on the back of his flak helmet. He was seriously wounded and knocked unconscious. When the B-17 landed, Cruz was transported to the 65th General Hospital and placed in the “head trauma” area of the hospital. The impact had opened a wound in the back of his head and caused a severe concussion. It would be several days before he gained consciousness, and he would remain in the hospital for 3 weeks.
On 1 Oct 1944, Lt Murphy and the crew came to the hospital and convinced the doctor to release him so he could return to the crew for the next mission.
Kassel, Germany 2 Oct 44 - Cruz and the Murphy crew were back in the air. The target for the 493rd Bomb Group was the "Henschel & Sohn” Tiger Tank factory located at Kassel, Germany. The group was able to destroy the bridge and railyard needed to deliver the tanks. The German flak was accurate with pockets of high intensity that managed to “Swiss cheese” some B-17s, no one was injured. Cruz was still not fully recovered (both physically and mentally) so the mission was very difficult, but somehow, he managed to do his duty.
Over the next dozen days, Murphy and the crew flew on four combat missions. Targets at Munster, Merseburg, Gustavsburg, and Cologne were all bombed with minimal damage to the 493rd BG formations. The worst mission was to Merseburg (as usual) but, despite many close flak explosions no 493rd bomb group aircraft were lost. Other bomb groups were not so lucky with multiple bomb groups losing B-17 bombers.
Ludwigshafen, Germany 5 Nov 44 - The 493rd BG returned to bomb the I.G. Farben Chemical Plant at Ludwigshafen. The German flak guns pounded the formation, and two B-17 were hit. One B-17 took a hit on engine number two, which knocked the propeller off and set the engine on fire. At the same time another bomber was hit on engine # 3. Two 493rd BG B-17s lost within seconds of each other! (11 men were KIA and 9 taken POW). The bombing campaign was a brutal war of attrition.
The next 3 missions were targets at Neumunster, Koblenz, and Duren, Germany. These went well and no major flak or enemy fighters were encountered. On 21 Nov the Murphy crew took off for their 35th and hopefully their last combat mission (Merseburg). Success!
Lt Roy Murphy, T/Sgt Cruz Nogales and the rest of the crew completed 35 missions against enemy positions.
Cruz Nogales returned to his family in Alamogordo, New Mexico in late Dec 1944. Cruz remained in the Army till Sept of 1945 stationed at Ft. Bliss, Texas. He had physically recovered from his combat missions, but the terror, death and destruction he had experienced would remain with them for a very long time. Like most men who returned from this brutal war, they did not talk about it.