On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1944, Peter Ortiz parachuted into Nazi-occupied France, where the Gestapo offered a reward of half a million francs for his capture. The actor—who appeared in many classic John Ford Westerns was also a two-time recipient of the Navy Cross.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American Stories here to tell
another Hollywood goes to War's story is our own. Roger
McGrath McGrath is the author of Gunfighters and Vigilantes, Violence
on the Frontier, a US marine and former history professor
at UCLA, Doctor McGrath has appeared on numerous History Channel
(00:30):
documentaries and is a regular contributor here at our American Stories.
Here's McGrath.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
In our Tease.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Began his career in Hollywood as a technical advisor for
all Things Military. After a highly decorated service in World
War Two, he began appearing in movies as a curac
director Taul Lean and Hansom, and with a military bearing,
often portrayed military officers which he had been. He appeared
(01:01):
in five of John Ford's films, included She Wore a
Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande. He appeared in twenty two
other films and in two television series. He worked with
such directors as John Sturgis, Michael Kurtiz, Raul Walsh, Robert Wise,
and Sam Fuller. The lead actress in the movies Ortiz
(01:22):
had roles in included such stars as John Wayne, Gary Cooper,
Prairie Peck, Humphrey Bogart and James Kig. Peter Ortiz is
born in New York City in nineteen thirteen. Is christened
Pierre Julian Ortiz, but will go by Peter. His mother
(01:45):
is an American of Swiss German descent, and his father French.
He is reared partly in New York and partly in France,
and grows up speaking English, French, and German. He later
acquires fluency in Spanish and Arabic and conversational proficiency in
Italian and Portuguese. Is an excellent student in a private
(02:07):
secondary school in France and is accepted for admission to.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The University of Grenoble.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Inspired by his reading of Tales of Adventure, Ortiz drops
out of college after a year and joins a French
foreign legion in nineteen thirty two. He's sent to the
legion's training camp in Algeria, then a French colonial possession,
excels in his training and upon graduation.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Is posted to Morocco.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
His father, a prosperous and well connected figure in France,
arrives in Morocco to buy Ortes out of a legion. However,
the now nineteen year old corporal or Keys will have
none of it. There's adventure a plenty for Ortiz in
North Africa, provided by groups of rebels, Bedouin and Berber tribesmen, bandits,
(03:01):
and pirates. Ortiz is in several engagements and is wounded
in one of them. He's awarded the Qua Deagher twice
in the military medal once. As his five year enlistment
years an end. He's the commander of an armored car
unit and has the rank of brevet second lieutenant. The
Legion offers him a regular rank of lieutenant if he
(03:24):
will enlist for another five years. Ortiz decides it's time
for a new adventure and heads for Hollywood. With his
Foreign Legion experience and his chest full of medals, he
quickly finds work as a technical advisor for movies with
a military or North African theme, which are popular at
(03:45):
the time. Ortiz works as a technical advisor for almost
three years when war erupts in Europe in September nineteen
thirty nine. A month later, Ortiz quits the good life
in Hollywood, flies to France and again enlists in the
Foreign Legion. Is given the rank of sergeant, but is
(04:07):
awarded a battlefield commission as lieutenant. In May nineteen forty
he is also awarded the Quadaguere for a third time.
During a withdrawal of French forces. Injured, he learns that
a storage jump of the gasoline has not been torched
by his retreating men. Lieutenant Ortiz swings his leg over
(04:30):
a motorcycle, speeds back to the dump, and sets the
gasoline on fire. The blazing fuel alerts the Germans and
they open fire on Orties. As he races towards the
French lines, a bullet penetrates his hip and grazes his spine.
(04:51):
Temporarily paralyzed, he crashes the motorcycle and is captured. Lieutenant
Ortiz spends the next fifteen months in pow camps, first
in Germany, then in Poland, and finally in Austria. He
attempts to escape from each camp. The third time proves
the charm when he disappears from the camp in Austria
(05:13):
in October nineteen forty one. Aided by partisans along the way,
he arrives in Portugal at the end of November. Both
the Free French and the British have clandestine operatives in Portugal,
and they each offer Ortiz a commission in their forces. However,
Ortiz is determined to return to the United States and
(05:34):
see his ailing mother in California. Sailing from Lisbon, Ortiz
reaches New York on December eighth, nineteen forty one, the
day after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Before
he heads for California, he is debriefed by both army
and naval intelligence officers. He also submits paperwork for a commission.
(06:00):
After reuniting with him mother and resting for several weeks,
he grows restless, wondering what's become of his application for
a commission. His inquiries get no results. Fed up with
the delay, in June nineteen forty two, he enlists in
the Marine Corps, and natural choice for him. The arrival
(06:21):
of Peter Ortiz at Parris Island recruit depot causes quite
a stir. Within weeks, Colonel Lewis Jones, a decorated veteran
of World War One and the chief of staff at
Parris Island, sends a packet to the Commandant of the
Marine Corps with Ortiz's application for a commission and the
record of Ortiz's service with the French Foreign Legion. Also
(06:46):
in the backet is a personal note from Colonel Jones,
saying Private Ortiz has made an extremely favorable impression upon
the undersigned. His knowledge of military matters is far beyond
that of normal recruit instructor. Ortiz is a very well
set up man and makes an excellent appearance. The Undersigned
(07:10):
is glad to recommend Ortiz for a commission in the
Marine Corps Reserve and is of the opinion that he
would be a decided addition to the reserve officer list.
In my opinion, he has the mental, moral, professional and
physical qualifications for the office for which he has made
application well this time, Ortiz's application is acted upon immediately,
(07:37):
and on August one, nineteen forty two, Peter Ortiz is
commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He remains
at Parris Island for two months as an insistent training
officer before going to parachute school at Camp lu June.
Already a qualified jumper from his service with the Legion,
(07:58):
the course is merely refresher for Ortiz. At Marine Corps Headquarters,
it's determined that Lieutenant Ortiz, with his fluency in French,
Arabic and German in his five years with the Foreign
Legion in North Africa would be of exceptional value to
the US Army, which landed on the beaches in Morocco
(08:21):
and Algeria on November eighth in Operation Torch. Things are
now moving fast for Ortiz. On December three, he is
promoted from second lieutenant to captain, skipping the normal step
to first lieutenant. On December twenty one, Captain Ortiz flies
to Tangier, Morocco, where he's assigned duties as an assistant
(08:44):
naval atta shade a cover for his real mission of
organizing and leading the patrol of Arab tribesmen to gather
intelligence behind German lines in Tunisia as part of an
Office of Strategic Services operation.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And you're listening to one heck of a story about
Peter Ortez. Born a privilege, he wants the action. He
drops out of college, he joins the French Foreign Legion,
and his dad tries to buy him out, and his
son will have nothing of it comes for his second adventure.
After doing a good and strong stint in the French
Foreign Legion to Hollywood and then a trip to America,
(09:27):
he gets bored hanging with his mom and joins the
Marine Corps, and quickly the brass understands what they have.
A multi lingual, courageous fighter whither going to use for
great purposes in what will be the future, as you
can tell already espionage world, what would become our modern CIA.
(09:50):
More of the story of Peter Ortiz. Here on our
American story, and we continue with our American stories and
(10:12):
our Hollywood Goes to War series with Roger McGrath the
subject of the story today, Peter Artiz. Let's pick up
where we last left off.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
The Office of Strategic Services or the OSS, was the
creation of Major General William Donovan, a Medal of Honor
recipient in World War One. The mission of the OSS
is collecting intelligence and conducting special operations behind enemy lines,
(10:46):
known as wild dill. General Donovan says his ideal candidates
for OSS operations or PhDs who can win a bar
fight at George Bund, an army intelligence officer during World
War Two and later a professor had Harvard and a
(11:07):
national security advisor, said of Donovan's organization, the OSS was
a remarkable institution, half cops and robbers and half faculty,
meeting with exceptional intelligence fluency in many languages, a combat
(11:28):
record second to none, and an escape from a German
prison camp. Peter Orteze is exactly the kind of man
Donovan wants. Ortiz now finds himself leading a reconnaissance patrol
behind German lines in Tunisia during January nineteen forty three.
(11:49):
Over several weeks, he gathers critical intelligence until his patrol
clashes with a German patrol in a fierce firefight. Ortiz's
wounded in the action, but continues fighting, and it's his
accurate throes of grenades that cause the Germans to break contact.
(12:10):
Ortiz will receive the Purple Heart for the wound he suffered.
General Donovan is highly impressed not only by Ortiz's reconnaissance
patrol and is valor in battle, but also by the
professional quality of Ortiza's after action report. Donovan says he
wants Orties assigned to the OSS full time. Ortiz spends
(12:33):
time recuperating in a hospital at Algiers and then at
another in Washington, d C. In May nineteen forty three,
the now fully recovered Ortiz is assigned to the OSS's
naval command. In July, He's flown to London for training
or a mission behind enemy lines in France. The mission
(12:57):
will be due a mountainous region of southeastern France known
as the Hate Savoir, which borders Switzerland and Italy. There
are large numbers of Free French in the region, particularly
on the Verkor Plateau immediately south of Grenoble. General Charles
de Gaul and other French leaders in exile think the
(13:17):
French partisans at Vercors, if well armed and trained, can
offer stout resistance to the Germans and divert german men
and materiel from Normandy when D Day arrives. The mission
to ver Coorps.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Is codenamed Union.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
On the moonless night of January sixth, nineteen forty four,
a British agent, a French agent, and Peter Ortiz parachute
onto the Verkor Plateau. They are dressed in civilian clothes
but carry their military.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Uniforms and packs.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
They quickly make contact with French partisans or maquis as
they are known law okally, and the OSS team begins
to train them. The British agent later said that Ortiz,
who knew not fear and did not hesitate to where
his US Marine captain's uniform in town and country alike.
(14:16):
This cheered the French but alerted the Germans, and the
mission was constantly on the move. Ortiz finds the morale
of the Maquis good. They willingly follow him on raids
and ambushes, but they need more arms and ammunition. Ortiz
coordinates parachute drops with the needed material, and eventually, as
(14:38):
hundreds of Maquis armed and attacking Germans, reports of an
American marine leading Maquis raids causes the Gestapo in the
area to increase their interrogations of farmers and townsfolk. Ortiz
seems a ghost like figure, appearing here and there and
then disappearing. He walks into villages in his youth in
(15:00):
the middle of the day to the cheers of the townsfolk,
and is gone before German soldiers or the Gestapo arrive.
He leads raids that steel German army or Guestopo vehicles
or set fire to German supply and ammo dumps. He
sets ambushes of German patrols. He rescues four down RAF
pilots and leads them through southern France and across the
(15:23):
Pyrenees to Spain. One night, Ortiz strolls into a German
occupied town wearing a long cape and enters a cafe
where three German officers are drinking and cursing the marquis
and the American marine who is leading them. The filth
of the American swine, they shout. They look up to
(15:45):
see a tall, lean faced man staring at them. The
man opens his cape to reveal a marine uniform and
draws two semi automatic Colt forty fives. He opens fire
before the Germans can unholster their side arms. They are
riddled by bullets and Captain Peter Ortiz disappears.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Into the night. In late May nineteen forty.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Four, after nearly five months of such daring, de Ortiz
is pulled out of the Corps by an airplane with
special short field takeoff and landing capabilities and flown to London.
He's decorated with the Navy Cross and promoted to Major.
Ortiz spends the next two months in London preparing for
(16:30):
another mission behind enemy lines, which is codenamed Union two.
This time, Ortiz will lead an OSS operational group to
act as guerrillas behind German lines. The group consists of
Ortiz and five enlisted Marines, an Air Force captain, and
a French officer. The French officer will carry documents identifying
(16:51):
him as an American marine. All members of the group
will wear their uniforms. On August one, nineteen forty four,
they parachute from an American B seventeen into a drop
zone at Verkor. A parachute of one of the marines's
malfunctions and he free falls to the ground and dies
(17:12):
upon impact. The others land safely and within days. Or
Tees and his team are in heavy action. At one point,
the Germans maneuver them into a steep walled canyon and
have them surrounded. Surrenders seems the only option Borroughteese tells
his men of tight spots he's.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Been in before and if they are.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Willing to follow him when night falls, or Tees leads
them crawling silently and undetected through the German mines. On
August sixteen, or Tees and five others just begin to
cross a road when a German troop convoy comes speeding
around a curve and is suddenly upon them. The trucks
(17:55):
screech to a halt and outcome dozens of German soldiers
in their weapons. As soon as their feet hit the pavement.
The Americans raced to the protection of buildings and houses
of a roadside village.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
In return fire.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
The German firepower is overwhelming, though, and the residents of
the town implore the Americans to surrender before the town
is destroyed.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And you're listening to Roger McGrath tell the story of
Peter Ortiz, who moved up the ranks of the Officer
Corps in the Marine Corps quickly. His competency, his courage
rewarded in the field of battles stood the test in
this newly formed OSS the equivalent of the modern day CIA,
and not just gathering intelligence, but going behind enemy lines
(18:42):
and conducting operations, one of them to try and divert
German troops away from Normandy. Imagine the importance of an
operation like that. He's ultimately awarded the Navy Cross and
we find him back at war again even after the awards.
By the way, the description of these men in the
early OSS PhDs who can win a bar fight half
(19:06):
cops and robbers, half faculty meeting and this cowboy with
a refined multi lingual sensibility going into combat for the
sheer adventure of it. When we come back more of
Peter Ortiz's story here on our American Stories, and we
(19:38):
continue with our American stories and with Roger McGrath telling
the story of Peter Ortez. Let's pick up when we
last left off.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
On August sixteen, or Tees and five others just begin
to cross a road when a German troop convoy comes
speeding around a curve and suddenly upon them. The trucks
screech to a halt and outcome dozens of German soldiers,
firing their weapons as soon as their feet hit the pavement.
The Americans race to the protection of buildings and houses
(20:11):
of a roadside village in return fire. The German firepower
is overwhelming, though, and the residents of the town implore
the Americans to surrender before the town is destroyed. Ortiz
looks at a sergeant positioned close to him and explains that,
considering the circumstances, it would be best to surrender. A
(20:34):
sergeant looks or Tease in the eye and says, Major,
we are marines.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
What you think is right goes for me too.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Ortiz orders his men to cease fire and shouts of
the Germans, who continue to lay down a withering fire.
Finally realizing there is no return fire, the German shooting slackens.
Ortiz steps out from cover and begins walking towards the
German lines. A few rounds kick up dusts around him,
for Rtiz continues walking, all the while calling for the
(21:07):
German commander. When the commander comes forward, Ortiz says he
will order his men to surrender only if the commander
will guarantee the villagers will not be armed. The commander
gives his word, and Ortiz orders his men to assemble
next to him. Ortiz calls them to attention and orders
(21:29):
them to give no information other than that required by
the Geneva Convention. The German commander is impressed by both
the order and the look of Ortiz and his men,
and tells his troops to treat the Americans with respect.
Ortiz and his men are now transported by truck from
one German army camp to another until they finally reach
(21:51):
a Puw camp in northern Italy. They are not there
for long before they put a boarder train with box
cars full of French, British and American prisoners. The train
takes them hundreds of miles north to a pow camp
in Germany near the north sea port of Bremen. They
arrive at the end of September nineteen forty four. The
(22:16):
campus divided into two separate camps, one for officers and
one for enlisted men. Ortiz finds himself with some four
hundred other officers, nearly all on them British. Only three,
including Ortiz, are American. The senior Allied officer is a
British Royal Navy captain. Upon meeting him, Ortiz asks about
(22:37):
plans for escape and is told there will be no
escape attempts. Major Ortiz immediately declares himself senior American officer
and says American POWs will plan to escape. On the
night of December eighteenth, Ortiz and an American Navy lieutenant,
Hiram Harris, spend more than an hour and crawling through
(23:01):
a series of wire fences before reaching an open field.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
And making a dash for it.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Searchlights illuminate the running Americans and they're escorted back to
the camp and locked in solitary confinement. On April tenth,
nineteen forty five, with Allied forces moving into Germany, it's
decided to move most of the prisoners to a puw
camp at Lubeck, a port on the Baltic Sea about
(23:29):
one hundred and twenty miles to the northeast.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
The prisoners begin.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
The trek, marching in a column along the side of
a road, when a couple of raf spitfires sweep down
on the column and open fire. While most in the
column die for cover or tease, dashes into nearby woods.
Two Americans and one Englishman follow him. With the spitfires gone,
(23:54):
German guards order the prisoners back into a column and
the march begins again. No one seen to have noticed
the disappearance of Ortiz and the others. Ortiz thinks that
British troops must be near and will not be more
than a day or two before they arrive. The escapees
move only at night, and all they ever see are Germans.
(24:17):
Several times they only narrowly escape detection. After ten days
of this, and with no food, they are starving and exhausted.
Disgusted by the slow advance of the British, Ortiz decides
they should return to their old pow camp and see
if any food was left behind. They walk into the
(24:37):
camp and a few guards there mostly ignore them. It
seems the guards know the war is nearly over. Among
the few prisoners still there are the enlisted Marines for
Mortiz's SS group. They give them a rousing welcome. For
better or worse, they are together again. A week later,
(24:57):
a British armored division finally reaches the camp. Most of
the remaining prisoners eagerly board trucks for transportation to the rear,
but not Ortiz. In his men, Ortiz asks if his
group can join the armored division. As Ortiz later put it,
we Marines wanted to join this unit in order to
(25:20):
bag a few more Germans before hunting season closed. The
British refuse, and Ortiz and the others are sent to
the rear. Ortiz is debriefed by an OSS officer, and
then the commander of the US Navy's twelfth Fleet decorates
Ortiz with a second Navy Cross. By this time, the
(25:42):
war in Europe is over, and Ortiz requests combat duty
against the Japanese. By July nineteen forty five, he is
in California preparing a team for an OSS mission to
Indo China, but the atomic bombs in August in the
war before the mission is launched, Ortiz returns to Hollywood
(26:06):
to again work as a technical advisor, beginning with thirteen
Rue Madeline, a World War II spy thriller released in
nineteen forty six starring James Cagney. Ortiz is content with
working as a technical adviser and has no ambitions to
become an actor. But the director, John Ford, a veteran
(26:28):
of the Navy and the OSS who was involved in
his own daring do when he parachuted behind Japanese lions
into a Burmese jungle, offers Ortiz.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
A small role in She Wore a Yellow.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
Ribbon starring John Wayne Because the offer comes from John Ford,
Ortez accepts it. During the next decade, Ortiz appears in
five of Ford's movies and in twenty seven movies altogether,
as well as in two television series. He enjoys the
work because he doesn't really act, but simply plays himself,
(27:04):
often portraying a military officer. In Retreat Hell, the best
movie about marines in Korea, Ortiz plays marine major exactly
what he was while Peter Ortiz is acting. Operation Secret,
a movie inspired by Ortiz's real life during dew is
(27:25):
released in nineteen fifty two. Cornell Wilde plays Ortiz called
Peter Forrester in the movie, but as usual, Hollywood takes
liberties with what really occurred. Ortiz eventually retires from Hollywood
and moves with his wife to Prescott, Arizona. Their son
(27:47):
becomes a marine officer like his dad. In nineteen eighty eight,
at the age of seventy four, Peter Ortiz dies is
buried with full military honors in arlying to National Cemetery.
Not only are Harry ranking American officers there, but also
I ranking officers from France. He's an American hero and
(28:12):
a French hero. To this day, Peter Ortiz is commemorated
in France. Has the hero of Oh Savoir.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Had a terrific job on the production editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hengler and a special thanks to
Roger McGrath or Hollywood Goes to War series is his
brainchild and it's his storytelling and there's so much good
stuff go to while American Stories dot Com and just
put in Hollywood goes to War and Doctor McGrath has
(28:45):
appeared on numerous History Channel documentaries and again is a
regular contributor here at our American stories, and what a
story he told here, Peter Artiz. Imagine this two not one,
but two navy crosses. He's a pow not once but twice,
once with the French Foreign Legion, serving in World War Two,
and again in an operation behind enemy lines. And the
(29:08):
character you can almost see him feel them and hear them.
The joy of spoken words sometimes is that you don't
need the pictures. Sometimes we can fill them in ourselves.
And when he returns to Los Angeles, the next thing
you know, well, a director who knew a little about war,
John Ford, he himself was in the OSS and the
(29:29):
Navy and fought in World War Two, hired him as
an actor to play, of course, military men. And he
did that because it's who he was and it's what
he knew. And Peter Ortiz finally does retire and retires
in Arizona. His son becomes a marine, and that's no surprise.
These things run through family lines and intergenerational service. In
(29:54):
nineteen eighty eight, Peter Ortiz died. He was seventy four.
He was buried with full military honors in Arlington Cemetery.
He died an American and a French hero. The story
of Peter Ortiz, a part of our Hollywood Goes to
War series. Here on our American stories.
And we continue with our American Stories here to tell
another Hollywood goes to War's story is our own. Roger
McGrath McGrath is the author of Gunfighters and Vigilantes, Violence
on the Frontier, a US marine and former history professor
at UCLA, Doctor McGrath has appeared on numerous History Channel
(00:30):
documentaries and is a regular contributor here at our American Stories.
Here's McGrath.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
In our Tease.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Began his career in Hollywood as a technical advisor for
all Things Military. After a highly decorated service in World
War Two, he began appearing in movies as a curac
director Taul Lean and Hansom, and with a military bearing,
often portrayed military officers which he had been. He appeared
(01:01):
in five of John Ford's films, included She Wore a
Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande. He appeared in twenty two
other films and in two television series. He worked with
such directors as John Sturgis, Michael Kurtiz, Raul Walsh, Robert Wise,
and Sam Fuller. The lead actress in the movies Ortiz
(01:22):
had roles in included such stars as John Wayne, Gary Cooper,
Prairie Peck, Humphrey Bogart and James Kig. Peter Ortiz is
born in New York City in nineteen thirteen. Is christened
Pierre Julian Ortiz, but will go by Peter. His mother
(01:45):
is an American of Swiss German descent, and his father French.
He is reared partly in New York and partly in France,
and grows up speaking English, French, and German. He later
acquires fluency in Spanish and Arabic and conversational proficiency in
Italian and Portuguese. Is an excellent student in a private
(02:07):
secondary school in France and is accepted for admission to.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The University of Grenoble.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Inspired by his reading of Tales of Adventure, Ortiz drops
out of college after a year and joins a French
foreign legion in nineteen thirty two. He's sent to the
legion's training camp in Algeria, then a French colonial possession,
excels in his training and upon graduation.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Is posted to Morocco.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
His father, a prosperous and well connected figure in France,
arrives in Morocco to buy Ortes out of a legion. However,
the now nineteen year old corporal or Keys will have
none of it. There's adventure a plenty for Ortiz in
North Africa, provided by groups of rebels, Bedouin and Berber tribesmen, bandits,
(03:01):
and pirates. Ortiz is in several engagements and is wounded
in one of them. He's awarded the Qua Deagher twice
in the military medal once. As his five year enlistment
years an end. He's the commander of an armored car
unit and has the rank of brevet second lieutenant. The
Legion offers him a regular rank of lieutenant if he
(03:24):
will enlist for another five years. Ortiz decides it's time
for a new adventure and heads for Hollywood. With his
Foreign Legion experience and his chest full of medals, he
quickly finds work as a technical advisor for movies with
a military or North African theme, which are popular at
(03:45):
the time. Ortiz works as a technical advisor for almost
three years when war erupts in Europe in September nineteen
thirty nine. A month later, Ortiz quits the good life
in Hollywood, flies to France and again enlists in the
Foreign Legion. Is given the rank of sergeant, but is
(04:07):
awarded a battlefield commission as lieutenant. In May nineteen forty
he is also awarded the Quadaguere for a third time.
During a withdrawal of French forces. Injured, he learns that
a storage jump of the gasoline has not been torched
by his retreating men. Lieutenant Ortiz swings his leg over
(04:30):
a motorcycle, speeds back to the dump, and sets the
gasoline on fire. The blazing fuel alerts the Germans and
they open fire on Orties. As he races towards the
French lines, a bullet penetrates his hip and grazes his spine.
(04:51):
Temporarily paralyzed, he crashes the motorcycle and is captured. Lieutenant
Ortiz spends the next fifteen months in pow camps, first
in Germany, then in Poland, and finally in Austria. He
attempts to escape from each camp. The third time proves
the charm when he disappears from the camp in Austria
(05:13):
in October nineteen forty one. Aided by partisans along the way,
he arrives in Portugal at the end of November. Both
the Free French and the British have clandestine operatives in Portugal,
and they each offer Ortiz a commission in their forces. However,
Ortiz is determined to return to the United States and
(05:34):
see his ailing mother in California. Sailing from Lisbon, Ortiz
reaches New York on December eighth, nineteen forty one, the
day after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Before
he heads for California, he is debriefed by both army
and naval intelligence officers. He also submits paperwork for a commission.
(06:00):
After reuniting with him mother and resting for several weeks,
he grows restless, wondering what's become of his application for
a commission. His inquiries get no results. Fed up with
the delay, in June nineteen forty two, he enlists in
the Marine Corps, and natural choice for him. The arrival
(06:21):
of Peter Ortiz at Parris Island recruit depot causes quite
a stir. Within weeks, Colonel Lewis Jones, a decorated veteran
of World War One and the chief of staff at
Parris Island, sends a packet to the Commandant of the
Marine Corps with Ortiz's application for a commission and the
record of Ortiz's service with the French Foreign Legion. Also
(06:46):
in the backet is a personal note from Colonel Jones,
saying Private Ortiz has made an extremely favorable impression upon
the undersigned. His knowledge of military matters is far beyond
that of normal recruit instructor. Ortiz is a very well
set up man and makes an excellent appearance. The Undersigned
(07:10):
is glad to recommend Ortiz for a commission in the
Marine Corps Reserve and is of the opinion that he
would be a decided addition to the reserve officer list.
In my opinion, he has the mental, moral, professional and
physical qualifications for the office for which he has made
application well this time, Ortiz's application is acted upon immediately,
(07:37):
and on August one, nineteen forty two, Peter Ortiz is
commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He remains
at Parris Island for two months as an insistent training
officer before going to parachute school at Camp lu June.
Already a qualified jumper from his service with the Legion,
(07:58):
the course is merely refresher for Ortiz. At Marine Corps Headquarters,
it's determined that Lieutenant Ortiz, with his fluency in French,
Arabic and German in his five years with the Foreign
Legion in North Africa would be of exceptional value to
the US Army, which landed on the beaches in Morocco
(08:21):
and Algeria on November eighth in Operation Torch. Things are
now moving fast for Ortiz. On December three, he is
promoted from second lieutenant to captain, skipping the normal step
to first lieutenant. On December twenty one, Captain Ortiz flies
to Tangier, Morocco, where he's assigned duties as an assistant
(08:44):
naval atta shade a cover for his real mission of
organizing and leading the patrol of Arab tribesmen to gather
intelligence behind German lines in Tunisia as part of an
Office of Strategic Services operation.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And you're listening to one heck of a story about
Peter Ortez. Born a privilege, he wants the action. He
drops out of college, he joins the French Foreign Legion,
and his dad tries to buy him out, and his
son will have nothing of it comes for his second adventure.
After doing a good and strong stint in the French
Foreign Legion to Hollywood and then a trip to America,
(09:27):
he gets bored hanging with his mom and joins the
Marine Corps, and quickly the brass understands what they have.
A multi lingual, courageous fighter whither going to use for
great purposes in what will be the future, as you
can tell already espionage world, what would become our modern CIA.
(09:50):
More of the story of Peter Ortiz. Here on our
American story, and we continue with our American stories and
(10:12):
our Hollywood Goes to War series with Roger McGrath the
subject of the story today, Peter Artiz. Let's pick up
where we last left off.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
The Office of Strategic Services or the OSS, was the
creation of Major General William Donovan, a Medal of Honor
recipient in World War One. The mission of the OSS
is collecting intelligence and conducting special operations behind enemy lines,
(10:46):
known as wild dill. General Donovan says his ideal candidates
for OSS operations or PhDs who can win a bar
fight at George Bund, an army intelligence officer during World
War Two and later a professor had Harvard and a
(11:07):
national security advisor, said of Donovan's organization, the OSS was
a remarkable institution, half cops and robbers and half faculty,
meeting with exceptional intelligence fluency in many languages, a combat
(11:28):
record second to none, and an escape from a German
prison camp. Peter Orteze is exactly the kind of man
Donovan wants. Ortiz now finds himself leading a reconnaissance patrol
behind German lines in Tunisia during January nineteen forty three.
(11:49):
Over several weeks, he gathers critical intelligence until his patrol
clashes with a German patrol in a fierce firefight. Ortiz's
wounded in the action, but continues fighting, and it's his
accurate throes of grenades that cause the Germans to break contact.
(12:10):
Ortiz will receive the Purple Heart for the wound he suffered.
General Donovan is highly impressed not only by Ortiz's reconnaissance
patrol and is valor in battle, but also by the
professional quality of Ortiza's after action report. Donovan says he
wants Orties assigned to the OSS full time. Ortiz spends
(12:33):
time recuperating in a hospital at Algiers and then at
another in Washington, d C. In May nineteen forty three,
the now fully recovered Ortiz is assigned to the OSS's
naval command. In July, He's flown to London for training
or a mission behind enemy lines in France. The mission
(12:57):
will be due a mountainous region of southeastern France known
as the Hate Savoir, which borders Switzerland and Italy. There
are large numbers of Free French in the region, particularly
on the Verkor Plateau immediately south of Grenoble. General Charles
de Gaul and other French leaders in exile think the
(13:17):
French partisans at Vercors, if well armed and trained, can
offer stout resistance to the Germans and divert german men
and materiel from Normandy when D Day arrives. The mission
to ver Coorps.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Is codenamed Union.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
On the moonless night of January sixth, nineteen forty four,
a British agent, a French agent, and Peter Ortiz parachute
onto the Verkor Plateau. They are dressed in civilian clothes
but carry their military.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Uniforms and packs.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
They quickly make contact with French partisans or maquis as
they are known law okally, and the OSS team begins
to train them. The British agent later said that Ortiz,
who knew not fear and did not hesitate to where
his US Marine captain's uniform in town and country alike.
(14:16):
This cheered the French but alerted the Germans, and the
mission was constantly on the move. Ortiz finds the morale
of the Maquis good. They willingly follow him on raids
and ambushes, but they need more arms and ammunition. Ortiz
coordinates parachute drops with the needed material, and eventually, as
(14:38):
hundreds of Maquis armed and attacking Germans, reports of an
American marine leading Maquis raids causes the Gestapo in the
area to increase their interrogations of farmers and townsfolk. Ortiz
seems a ghost like figure, appearing here and there and
then disappearing. He walks into villages in his youth in
(15:00):
the middle of the day to the cheers of the townsfolk,
and is gone before German soldiers or the Gestapo arrive.
He leads raids that steel German army or Guestopo vehicles
or set fire to German supply and ammo dumps. He
sets ambushes of German patrols. He rescues four down RAF
pilots and leads them through southern France and across the
(15:23):
Pyrenees to Spain. One night, Ortiz strolls into a German
occupied town wearing a long cape and enters a cafe
where three German officers are drinking and cursing the marquis
and the American marine who is leading them. The filth
of the American swine, they shout. They look up to
(15:45):
see a tall, lean faced man staring at them. The
man opens his cape to reveal a marine uniform and
draws two semi automatic Colt forty fives. He opens fire
before the Germans can unholster their side arms. They are
riddled by bullets and Captain Peter Ortiz disappears.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Into the night. In late May nineteen forty.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Four, after nearly five months of such daring, de Ortiz
is pulled out of the Corps by an airplane with
special short field takeoff and landing capabilities and flown to London.
He's decorated with the Navy Cross and promoted to Major.
Ortiz spends the next two months in London preparing for
(16:30):
another mission behind enemy lines, which is codenamed Union two.
This time, Ortiz will lead an OSS operational group to
act as guerrillas behind German lines. The group consists of
Ortiz and five enlisted Marines, an Air Force captain, and
a French officer. The French officer will carry documents identifying
(16:51):
him as an American marine. All members of the group
will wear their uniforms. On August one, nineteen forty four,
they parachute from an American B seventeen into a drop
zone at Verkor. A parachute of one of the marines's
malfunctions and he free falls to the ground and dies
(17:12):
upon impact. The others land safely and within days. Or
Tees and his team are in heavy action. At one point,
the Germans maneuver them into a steep walled canyon and
have them surrounded. Surrenders seems the only option Borroughteese tells
his men of tight spots he's.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Been in before and if they are.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Willing to follow him when night falls, or Tees leads
them crawling silently and undetected through the German mines. On
August sixteen, or Tees and five others just begin to
cross a road when a German troop convoy comes speeding
around a curve and is suddenly upon them. The trucks
(17:55):
screech to a halt and outcome dozens of German soldiers
in their weapons. As soon as their feet hit the pavement.
The Americans raced to the protection of buildings and houses
of a roadside village.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
In return fire.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
The German firepower is overwhelming, though, and the residents of
the town implore the Americans to surrender before the town
is destroyed.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And you're listening to Roger McGrath tell the story of
Peter Ortiz, who moved up the ranks of the Officer
Corps in the Marine Corps quickly. His competency, his courage
rewarded in the field of battles stood the test in
this newly formed OSS the equivalent of the modern day CIA,
and not just gathering intelligence, but going behind enemy lines
(18:42):
and conducting operations, one of them to try and divert
German troops away from Normandy. Imagine the importance of an
operation like that. He's ultimately awarded the Navy Cross and
we find him back at war again even after the awards.
By the way, the description of these men in the
early OSS PhDs who can win a bar fight half
(19:06):
cops and robbers, half faculty meeting and this cowboy with
a refined multi lingual sensibility going into combat for the
sheer adventure of it. When we come back more of
Peter Ortiz's story here on our American Stories, and we
(19:38):
continue with our American stories and with Roger McGrath telling
the story of Peter Ortez. Let's pick up when we
last left off.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
On August sixteen, or Tees and five others just begin
to cross a road when a German troop convoy comes
speeding around a curve and suddenly upon them. The trucks
screech to a halt and outcome dozens of German soldiers,
firing their weapons as soon as their feet hit the pavement.
The Americans race to the protection of buildings and houses
(20:11):
of a roadside village in return fire. The German firepower
is overwhelming, though, and the residents of the town implore
the Americans to surrender before the town is destroyed. Ortiz
looks at a sergeant positioned close to him and explains that,
considering the circumstances, it would be best to surrender. A
(20:34):
sergeant looks or Tease in the eye and says, Major,
we are marines.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
What you think is right goes for me too.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Ortiz orders his men to cease fire and shouts of
the Germans, who continue to lay down a withering fire.
Finally realizing there is no return fire, the German shooting slackens.
Ortiz steps out from cover and begins walking towards the
German lines. A few rounds kick up dusts around him,
for Rtiz continues walking, all the while calling for the
(21:07):
German commander. When the commander comes forward, Ortiz says he
will order his men to surrender only if the commander
will guarantee the villagers will not be armed. The commander
gives his word, and Ortiz orders his men to assemble
next to him. Ortiz calls them to attention and orders
(21:29):
them to give no information other than that required by
the Geneva Convention. The German commander is impressed by both
the order and the look of Ortiz and his men,
and tells his troops to treat the Americans with respect.
Ortiz and his men are now transported by truck from
one German army camp to another until they finally reach
(21:51):
a Puw camp in northern Italy. They are not there
for long before they put a boarder train with box
cars full of French, British and American prisoners. The train
takes them hundreds of miles north to a pow camp
in Germany near the north sea port of Bremen. They
arrive at the end of September nineteen forty four. The
(22:16):
campus divided into two separate camps, one for officers and
one for enlisted men. Ortiz finds himself with some four
hundred other officers, nearly all on them British. Only three,
including Ortiz, are American. The senior Allied officer is a
British Royal Navy captain. Upon meeting him, Ortiz asks about
(22:37):
plans for escape and is told there will be no
escape attempts. Major Ortiz immediately declares himself senior American officer
and says American POWs will plan to escape. On the
night of December eighteenth, Ortiz and an American Navy lieutenant,
Hiram Harris, spend more than an hour and crawling through
(23:01):
a series of wire fences before reaching an open field.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
And making a dash for it.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Searchlights illuminate the running Americans and they're escorted back to
the camp and locked in solitary confinement. On April tenth,
nineteen forty five, with Allied forces moving into Germany, it's
decided to move most of the prisoners to a puw
camp at Lubeck, a port on the Baltic Sea about
(23:29):
one hundred and twenty miles to the northeast.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
The prisoners begin.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
The trek, marching in a column along the side of
a road, when a couple of raf spitfires sweep down
on the column and open fire. While most in the
column die for cover or tease, dashes into nearby woods.
Two Americans and one Englishman follow him. With the spitfires gone,
(23:54):
German guards order the prisoners back into a column and
the march begins again. No one seen to have noticed
the disappearance of Ortiz and the others. Ortiz thinks that
British troops must be near and will not be more
than a day or two before they arrive. The escapees
move only at night, and all they ever see are Germans.
(24:17):
Several times they only narrowly escape detection. After ten days
of this, and with no food, they are starving and exhausted.
Disgusted by the slow advance of the British, Ortiz decides
they should return to their old pow camp and see
if any food was left behind. They walk into the
(24:37):
camp and a few guards there mostly ignore them. It
seems the guards know the war is nearly over. Among
the few prisoners still there are the enlisted Marines for
Mortiz's SS group. They give them a rousing welcome. For
better or worse, they are together again. A week later,
(24:57):
a British armored division finally reaches the camp. Most of
the remaining prisoners eagerly board trucks for transportation to the rear,
but not Ortiz. In his men, Ortiz asks if his
group can join the armored division. As Ortiz later put it,
we Marines wanted to join this unit in order to
(25:20):
bag a few more Germans before hunting season closed. The
British refuse, and Ortiz and the others are sent to
the rear. Ortiz is debriefed by an OSS officer, and
then the commander of the US Navy's twelfth Fleet decorates
Ortiz with a second Navy Cross. By this time, the
(25:42):
war in Europe is over, and Ortiz requests combat duty
against the Japanese. By July nineteen forty five, he is
in California preparing a team for an OSS mission to
Indo China, but the atomic bombs in August in the
war before the mission is launched, Ortiz returns to Hollywood
(26:06):
to again work as a technical advisor, beginning with thirteen
Rue Madeline, a World War II spy thriller released in
nineteen forty six starring James Cagney. Ortiz is content with
working as a technical adviser and has no ambitions to
become an actor. But the director, John Ford, a veteran
(26:28):
of the Navy and the OSS who was involved in
his own daring do when he parachuted behind Japanese lions
into a Burmese jungle, offers Ortiz.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
A small role in She Wore a Yellow.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
Ribbon starring John Wayne Because the offer comes from John Ford,
Ortez accepts it. During the next decade, Ortiz appears in
five of Ford's movies and in twenty seven movies altogether,
as well as in two television series. He enjoys the
work because he doesn't really act, but simply plays himself,
(27:04):
often portraying a military officer. In Retreat Hell, the best
movie about marines in Korea, Ortiz plays marine major exactly
what he was while Peter Ortiz is acting. Operation Secret,
a movie inspired by Ortiz's real life during dew is
(27:25):
released in nineteen fifty two. Cornell Wilde plays Ortiz called
Peter Forrester in the movie, but as usual, Hollywood takes
liberties with what really occurred. Ortiz eventually retires from Hollywood
and moves with his wife to Prescott, Arizona. Their son
(27:47):
becomes a marine officer like his dad. In nineteen eighty eight,
at the age of seventy four, Peter Ortiz dies is
buried with full military honors in arlying to National Cemetery.
Not only are Harry ranking American officers there, but also
I ranking officers from France. He's an American hero and
(28:12):
a French hero. To this day, Peter Ortiz is commemorated
in France. Has the hero of Oh Savoir.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Had a terrific job on the production editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hengler and a special thanks to
Roger McGrath or Hollywood Goes to War series is his
brainchild and it's his storytelling and there's so much good
stuff go to while American Stories dot Com and just
put in Hollywood goes to War and Doctor McGrath has
(28:45):
appeared on numerous History Channel documentaries and again is a
regular contributor here at our American stories, and what a
story he told here, Peter Artiz. Imagine this two not one,
but two navy crosses. He's a pow not once but twice,
once with the French Foreign Legion, serving in World War Two,
and again in an operation behind enemy lines. And the
(29:08):
character you can almost see him feel them and hear them.
The joy of spoken words sometimes is that you don't
need the pictures. Sometimes we can fill them in ourselves.
And when he returns to Los Angeles, the next thing
you know, well, a director who knew a little about war,
John Ford, he himself was in the OSS and the
(29:29):
Navy and fought in World War Two, hired him as
an actor to play, of course, military men. And he
did that because it's who he was and it's what
he knew. And Peter Ortiz finally does retire and retires
in Arizona. His son becomes a marine, and that's no surprise.
These things run through family lines and intergenerational service. In
(29:54):
nineteen eighty eight, Peter Ortiz died. He was seventy four.
He was buried with full military honors in Arlington Cemetery.
He died an American and a French hero. The story
of Peter Ortiz, a part of our Hollywood Goes to
War series. Here on our American stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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