Pfc Frank Escoto Nogales – Born July 14th, 1917, in High Rolls, NM
On July 17th, 1917, Inez gave birth to Francisco (Frank) Escoto Nogales at their home in High Rolls. The family called him Pancho and he had plenty of siblings to play with. He went to the local grammar school with his older brother Daniel and later attended Alamogordo high school. After high school, Frank worked at various jobs and his draft registration had him listed as a farm hand at Cochise, Arizona. He was drafted in Aug 1942, and completed training in Camp Claiborne, Louisiana qualifying as an Army Truck Driver.
Frank was assigned to the 634th Tank Destroyer (TD) battalion and on 10 Jan 1944 the battalion arrived in England and was garrisoned in southern England. The 634th battalion joined millions of soldiers that were preparing for the largest sea invasion in the history of mankind. The 634th TD battalion landed on Utah Beach on 30 Jun and saw first action south of the city of Carentan, France. Frank was assigned to the Supply Section of Battalion HQ Company which supported the 634th Companies (A, B & C) with ammunition and TD supplies. Each company had twelve M10 TD vehicles attached to different regiments of the 1st Infantry Division.
Operation Cobra – On 25 Jul 1944, the US 8th and 9th Air Force would conduct a massive saturation bombing of a 2x3 mile area near the city of Saint-Lo, France and the US Frist Army would launch a major attack on remaining German forces. The intense and brutal bombing punched a hole in the German lines and the 1st Infantry Division (ID) quickly drove towards the cities of Coutances and Avranches, France. Pfc Frank Nogales and the 634th TD Battalion (Bn) participated in the first major breakthrough of the Normandy Campaign.
Battle of Northern France – Beginning on 14 Aug the 1st ID and the 634th TD Bn moved rapidly eastward not encountering any significant German resistance. While this occurred the entire German Army Group in France was surrounded near the town of Falaise. Over 50,000 German soldiers were killed or captured by Allied forces. By Aug 24th the entire German forces were in full retreat towards Belgium. The 634th TD Bn advanced 20 miles per day northeast towards Belgium and was one of the first US Army groups to enter Belgium.
Battle of the Mons Pocket – On 31 Aug, near the city of Mons, Belgium the 1st Infantry Division with the 634th TD Bn ran into German columns attempting to reach the German border. They were joined by the US 3rd Armored Division and the US 9th Infantry Division to trap multiple German divisions in a pocket. The 3rd Armored Division set up roadblocks on the road between Mons and Avesnes, and the 1st ID with the 634th TD Bn spearheading attacked to the north-west from Avesnes into the German forces. The German forces were badly disorganized and lacked fuel and ammunition which resulted in American forces controlling the battlefield. The 1st Infantry Division and 634th TD continued to eliminate German positions and took large numbers of prisoners. In total 25,000 Germans were captured and approximately 3,500 killed.
Battle of Aachen, Germany - By 15 Sept the 634th TD Bn had reached the German border just south of Aachen, Germany. The 1st Infantry Division joined four other Infantry (9th, 28th, 29th, and 30th) Divisions with two Armored (2nd, 3rd) Divisions for the first battle on German territory in WWII. The battle for the city of Aachen began with the American forces surrounding the city thereby cutting off supplies and reinforcements. The 1st infantry units began the attack into the city, led by the M10 companies of the 634th TD Bn, which blasted buildings and fortifications being used by 18,000 Wehrmacht soldiers. Despite snipers and panzerfaust equipped Germans, Pfc Frank Nogales and the supply crews drove trucks to continuously transport ammunition to the lead 634th units. On 21 Oct all resistance ceased, and the remaining Wehrmacht forces surrendered to the Americans.
Three M10 destroyers moving through Aachen looking for enemy positions. The 634th TD units worked closely with the three infantry regiments of the 1st Infantry Division. Each regiment (16th infantry, 18th infantry and the 26th infantry) had a “Company” of M10 destroyers assigned consisting of twelve M10 destroyers each. They served an invaluable service in knocking out pill boxes, machine gun nests and any fortification pinning down the infantry units. They became an indispensable force in the capture of Aachen, Germany.
Battle of Hurtgen Forrest – Nov 1944, this was a long and brutal battle involving up to 10 US Army Infantry Divisions and 2 Armored Divisions and the German Wehrmacht assigning up to 13 divisions to counter the allies. Some progress was made by the 1st ID and the 634th Battalion, but it was a grueling advance, and many casualties were incurred by both sides. On 6 Dec the 1st ID and 634th were relieved for much need R & R.
The Battle of the Bulge – On 16 Dec, a huge German offensive was launched in the Ardennes Forest by a desperate Adolf Hitler. The Wehrmacht 5th Panzer army, 6th Panzer Army, and the 7th Army consisting of over 400,000 soldiers launched a huge offensive against American positions in the Ardennes. On 18 Dec the 634th TD Bn was dispatched to seize, occupy, and hold the town of Weismes, Belgium. For the next 2 weeks the Battalion held their position in spite of determined enemy attacks. By 25 Jan 1945, the German forces were completely driven back, and the largest and most costly battle in the history of the United States was won.
The Ludendorff Bridge and Encirclement of the Industrial Ruhr – On 7 Mar the U.S. 9th Armored Division had seized the railway bridge across the Rhine River at Remagen. On 15 March, the first elements of the 634th TD Bn. used the Ludendorff Bridge to cross the Rhine and moved into the eastern bridgehead that had been established. Two days later, the 1st Infantry Division attacked German positions to expand the bridgehead east of the Rhine River. Determined resistance was met as the Battalion drove generally north to the Sieg River. By 4 April 1945 the US Ninth Army, driving southeast and the US Frist Army (with the 1st ID) driving northeast encircled the Ruhr region with some 370,000 German soldiers were surrounded! This pocket yielded some 317,000 prisoners to the American Forces.
Battle of Harz Mountain - During the early part of April, the Battalion moved into the central part of Germany. The Harz Mountains region was defended by fourth German Corps who put up tough opposition to the 1st Infantry and the 634th. German tanks and self-propelled guns opposed the advance, some towns were captured with little or no resistance, while others like Osterode, Benneckenstein, and Thale were taken only after hard fighting. After the Battle of the Harz Mountains, the battalion traveled a distance of more than 200 miles and by 23 April the 634th TD battalion had entered the northwestern part of Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia 23 Apr to 8 May - Not all the fight was out of the German Army during the last days of the war, and although in some places the enemy gave up with little resistance, there were instances when they fought fanatically. On 4 May, Company B of the 634th contacted one of these fanatical groups at a range of 100 yards and fired their 3-inch-high explosive shells at the enemy who were determined not to give ground. The 634th physically overran four machine gun nest with the TDs, throwing hand grenades out of their vehicles into fox holes occupied by the Germans.
Pfc Frank Nogales had survived 306 days of continuous combat, except for a three-day period in August and a four-day period in December. Much credit for the efficiency of the TD Bn goes to Frank’s HQ Company, who furnished supplies and ammunition (under enemy fire) to all three 634th tank destroyer companies during its battles against the German Wehrmacht.
The end of hostilities in Europe did not mean that Pfc Frank Nogales and his fellow 634th soldiers were allowed to return to the states. The battalion remained and was stationed in the city of Dinkelsbuhl, Germany (45 miles southwest of Nuremburg) as an occupation unit. Frank would remain in Germany till early October 1945.
On the 20th of October Frank would finally be back home with his mother, father, siblings, and nephews. Frank had spent 1 year, 9 months, and 14 days overseas serving his country during WW II.