Was Spruance the Air Force T-33 Pilot who crashed into creek and was so horribly burned? If so, I was present at one of his Safety Presentations which were so well done.
I mended quite well.
The Burn Ward in Japan was an experience I never want to do again. Not so much for my personal experience which was pretty easy but for what I saw there.
Thirty Years after that time I while flying EMS I helped push a Burn Patient into the Receiving Hospital and upon entering the "Tub Room" I experience what is now commonly called a "Flashback". The sights and sounds of such suffering by those who were seriously burned as they were being treated will stay with me forever.
Nomex works for very short duration exposure or flash fires and is not designed to be fireproof.
Gloves can be burned off your hands as well as the Nomex. That is why I prefer all Leather gloves such as the RAF issue instead of the kind the US Military issue that are part leather and part nomex.
Anywhere there was but a single layer of Nomex I got more serious burns and where there were multiple layers such as Pockets only minor burns.
I advocate wearing gloves and boots that are above your ankles as all that hide between those two extremities can be re-treaded but your fingers and feet are critical appendages and need to be protected as best possible.
I also refuse to wear man made fabrics and only wear natural fiber clothing if not wearing Nomex. No Nylons, Polyesters, or anything like that. For our Lady pilots that rules out Panty Hose and similar items. Stick to Cotton or Wool as those will char and not melt. Long sleeves even in the Summer and always Leather Gloves.
Nomex does nothing to stop Shrapnel however.