From 1932 until the end of World War II, Peter J. Ortiz was almost constantly involved in international warfare—13 years of it—either fighting or gathering intelligence about fighting. He started in the French Foreign Legion, moved to the U.S. Marines when the United States entered the war, and was one of the first people to serve in America’s fledgling spy network, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

He was invaluable. He had grown up spending a lot of time in Europe and spoke at least five languages; some reports put the number as high as 10. By the end of the war, he had been decorated with two dozen medals from three countries. The subtitle to the book offers some insight as to why he was so acclaimed: "The Allies’ Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France."

Nicholas Reynolds graduated from Oxford University with a Ph.D. in modern history. Having grown up in the shadow of World War II and developing an interest in history and military history especially, he immediately joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving as an infantry officer and then as an historian. He later served as a CIA officer, ending with a years-long stint as CIA Museum historian. He now teaches and writes.

His books include Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence, which was designated a best book of 2022 by The New Yorker. He also wrote Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy (2017), which looks at the life and work of Ernest Hemingway and, in a way, links back to this book about Ortiz. In it, Nick looks at the OSS and Hemingway’s involvement with it in the closing days of World War II in Europe.

Katie S. Sanders is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and an award-winning journalist who has written for National Geographic, The New York Times, Washington Post Magazine, New World, Time, Smithsonian, Vanity Fair, Insider, Glamour, and Marie Claire.

Her reporting brought her to the CIA and the White House, and into the homes of many World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors. Her late grandfather, a Jewish-American bomber pilot who was shot down over France while dropping supplies behind enemy lines, was among those rescued by Peter Ortiz and the resistance fighters he led.

It was this connection that brought her to team with Nick to write the story of Ortiz’s War.

Buy Ortiz’s War wherever books are sold, including Amazon.

Find out more about our guests on their websites:

Nicholas Reynolds

Katie S. Sanders

Follow and tag @ortizswarbook.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Peter J. Ortiz was an extraordinary World War II warrior who served in the French Foreign Legion, U.S. Marine Corps, OSS, and British Special Operations Executive.

• The OSS was essentially built from scratch during World War II, growing from virtually no organization into a major American intelligence operation.

• Ortiz operated far beyond the traditional role of an intelligence officer, gathering intelligence, working with the French Resistance, recruiting couriers, conducting raids, and even stealing Gestapo staff cars.

• His fluency in French, familiarity with France, and experience in the French Foreign Legion made him uniquely effective behind enemy lines.

• Ortiz's leadership was defined as much by restraint as by courage. His decision to surrender to a vastly larger German force in order to protect a French village and give his men a chance to escape became one of the defining moments of his story.

• Nick Reynolds and Katie Sanders explore what made extraordinary battlefield leaders like Ortiz and Wild Bill Donovan different, including their tolerance for risk, discomfort, and uncertainty.

• Katie Sanders' connection to Ortiz is deeply personal: Ortiz helped save the life of her grandfather, a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot whose B-24 was shot down over France.

• The authors combine military records, oral histories, contemporary accounts, and other archival material to separate the documented history of Ortiz from the many legendary stories that grew up around him.

• At its heart, Ortiz's War is a story about courage, sacrifice, duty, leadership, and the extraordinary individuals who operated outside conventional molds during World War II.

"There's something extra in their makeup that is a tolerance for risk that a lot of us don't have." - Nick Reynolds

"It's not only tolerance for risk, but it's tolerance for discomfort." - Katie Sanders

You can also watch the full interview on our YouTube channel.

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#WorldWarII #MilitaryHistory #OSS