Nolan Ruiz was born in August 1924 near Donaldsonville, Louisiana. His father died when he was four years old and his mother, a midwife, never remarried. He had an older brother and a younger sister. He moved twice before he was 12 years old, first to White Castle, Louisiana, and then to Plaquemine, Louisiana, where he settled. He describes Plaquemine as a nice place to grow up; in high school he was nicknamed, "Country" since he had been born in a rural area and often wore a straw hat. He attended both grammar school and high school in Plaquemine, graduating in 1942. He recalls working in a cafe on 7 December 1941 when he heard the news about the Pearl Harbor attack. He was worried about the draft since he knew he was approaching his 18th birthday, which was draft age. His mother signed his enlistment papers because he wanted to go into the Air Corps so that he could avoid being assigned to the infantry. He wanted to be a pilot, but no such slots were being offered. He had a choice of bombardier, navigator, and gunner; he chose gunner because it had the shortest training timeline. He reported to Keesler Field, Mississippi for basic training. Once he finished basic, he was sent first to Buckley Field, Colorado, to learn gun maintenance and then on to Kingman, Arizona where he trained to be a ball turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. Following this, he was sent to Geiger Field outside Spokane, Washington, where he and his crew trained to be sent overseas. They had Air Force-taught classes at Gonzaga University, where they learned about other aircraft and topics involving combat. Once complete, they were sent overseas where they were assigned to the 412th Bombardment Squadron, 95th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, stationed in Norwich, England.

[Annotator's Note: Nolan Ruiz was from Louisiana and he had joined the Army Air Corps, where he was trained as a ball turret gunner in the B-17 Flying Fortress. He and his crew were assigned to the 412th Bombardment Squadron, 95th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, which was based in Norwich, England.] Nolan Ruiz describes England as a nice place, but it was clear when they arrived that everything was focused on the war. As an enlisted man, he had a bicycle so he could ride around the local area when he had time. He was invited occasionally to dine with a local British family; they enjoyed listening to him speak due to his Cajun accent and dialect. He found British food palatable, but certainly different than that to which he had been accustomed. They never ate rice, or gravy, or grits. He found British mannerisms a bit "too proper," he was more familiar with the relatively relaxed lifestyle of his upbringing. He found his first mission terrifying. He comments that after that one flight he would have quit had he been allowed. He saw several aircraft shot down, and he realized just how dangerous it was to be a bomber crew member. He describes having fear every time he flew, knowing the plane was full of bombs and fuel, and that there were enemy aircraft and flak [Annotator's Note: from the German Fliegerabwehrkanone, "aircraft defense cannon"] shooting at them. Between missions, the crew played cards and prayed a lot.

Nolan Ruiz and his crew had completed 20 of the requisite 25 missions in their tour of duty and he comments that they were dismayed to learn the target for the 21st mission was Berlin, Germany [Annotator's Note: as the German capital, Berlin was one of the most heavily defended cities in the theater of operations]. This mission would be the first daylight raid on Berlin, which made it even more dangerous. [Annotator's Note: Later in the interview, the Ruiz states that the date of the mission was 4 March 1944.] During the mission, the aircraft suffered a direct hit from flak, which set the right wing on fire. Ruiz bailed out as he was directed. Having never jumped from a plane before, he was relieved when his parachute opened. All ten men of the crew safely bailed out. As he descended in his parachute, he remembers thinking about all the stories he had heard about Germans strafing airmen in parachutes or using their airplane propellers to damage the parachute. When he landed, there were two Germans awaiting him. They searched him and removed anything of value including his wristwatch, a Catholic medal he wore, and his dog tags. He had earlier discarded the .45 caliber pistol he carried, having been told that having it was the surest way to be shot once captured. He was handcuffed and led to a nearby jail, where he spent the night still in handcuffs. He recalls being very distraught since he thought he'd never see his home again. Two days later, the entire crew had been captured and they were interrogated by a German officer. The navigator was the first to be interrogated, during which he only stated his name, rank, and serial number. The German became frustrated and assembled the crew and told the pilot that they needed to be cooperative, lest harm come to them. At the direction of the pilot, the navigator revealed such details as the route, timing of the raid, etc. at which point the interrogator seemed more cordial and stated that they [Annotator's Note: the Germans] already knew that information.

After they were captured, Nolan Ruiz and his crew were given an initial interrogation before being loaded into boxcars and transported to a prisoner of war camp in East Prussia [Annotator's Note: Stalag Luft IV], where he would eventually spend 14 months. It was a large camp and housed not only American prisoners, but also Russian, English, and French. He describes living in temporary barracks where 25 men were assigned to each building. They had to use buckets as latrines, and they were locked in the barracks from five in the evening to six in the morning each day. During the day, they had three roll calls to ensure no escapes had taken place. While they were allowed outside the barracks, they walked around and played cards. He comments the food "wasn't bad," and that they ate lots of boiled potatoes and a fish stew made from the remnants of the fish that the guards had eaten. The bread they had was often not fully cooked so they would toast it on the pot-bellied stoves in the barracks. He remarks that he lost 40 pounds over the course of his internment. The food in the POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war camp was a stark change from before his capture, since aircrew could eat as much as they wanted prior to flying missions. Ruiz comments that the prisoners at the time felt that they'd never get out; they expected to be put to death. Despite this fear, the guards were kind to them. Most were wounded or disabled German military veterans and they were just as happy as the Americans when word about the Normandy invasion reached the camp. The Germans were sick of the war and wanted it to end. As the war was coming to an end, he states that conditions grew worse. The Germans knew they were losing, food was becoming more scarce, and they had no leadership. To avoid capture by the Russians, the Germans took the prisoners and began what was to be a three-month march to the west. This march was very hard on the prisoners; food was lacking and many men died along the way due to various illnesses. During the march, the guards kept German civilians from attacking the prisoners; he remarks that had they not, they likely would have been killed. At one point, the column was mistakenly bombed by the British, who thought they were German troops. Many of the prisoners were killed. As part of this discussion, Ruiz comments as to the terrible nature of bombing. He recounts how when he was first captured he saw not only buildings that had been destroyed, but also gas lines broken, water lines cut, etc. He observes that no natural event would produce the same amount of destruction as did the bombing raids in which he participated. Eventually, the column of prisoners reached the American armies advancing to the east, and they were repatriated.

As the war was ending, Nolan Ruiz's German captors had taken the prisoners and marched them west so that they could surrender to the Americans instead of the Russians. Once the surrender had occurred, he states that he was sent home on a hospital plane. He flew first to New York then to Louisiana where he spent six months in LaGarde Hospital [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] before being discharged. He had numerous medical examinations and was ensured to be in good health before his discharge. He comments that he most craved sweets, and when he had apple pie for the first time he ate so much as to be sick from it. He was offered a chance to stay in the Air Force, but he declined as he wanted to take care of his mother who was having health problems and his sister who was in high school. He reflects that while he only had a high school education and no particular trade skills, his family was poor and he wanted to take care of them so he got involved in the cafe business. He spent 42 years running his cafe and raising his own family. He is very proud of the fact that even to this day he doesn't rely on the government for any assistance. He comments that his most memorable experience is that as a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war]. It taught him much about freedom and to appreciate life in the United States. While he feels war is terrible and that we should do everything we can to avoid it, he comments that he has suffered no ill effects from the war. His experience prepared him for life as an adult and to appreciate everything he has. He expresses dismay at Americans today. He feels that they have everything they could want, but still want more. He feels fortunate to have survived his POW experience; he has numerous friends who didn't. He comments that learning about World War 2 is very important. Future generations must understand and appreciate the sacrifice of those who fought in it, and hopefully we won't ever have to fight wars again.