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One of the most decorated Marine officers of World War II, Colonel Peter Ortiz served in both Africa and Europe, as a member of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Born in the U.S., Ortiz was educated in France and began his military service in 1932 at the age of 19 with the French Foreign Legion. Ortiz was said to be the youngest sergeant in the history of the Legion. He was wounded in action and imprisoned by the Germans in 1940.
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He eventually escaped and made his way to the U.S. After interrogation by Army and Navy intelligence officers, Ortiz was promised a commission.
Ortiz had also been offered commissions by the Free French and the British in Portugal, but he wanted to wear an American uniform. Because of his wounds, he was not fit for immediate active duty. When he heard nothing further about an American commission, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was assigned to boot camp at Parris Island.
At boot camp, Ortiz's experience and background made him a notable and stand-out recruit. Headquarters Marine Corps eventually became aware of and very interested in his record, his duty with the Foreign Legion, and the fact that he was a native French speaker, and less so with German, Spanish, and Arabic.
As a result, he was awarded a Captain's commission, his services were offered to the Army through COMINCH (Chief of Naval Operations/Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet), and he was given a special duty assignment as an assistant naval attaché in Tangier, Morocco. That was just a cover as, while there, he organized patrols of Arab tribesmen to scout German forces on the Tunisian front.
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Performing combat intelligence in Tunisia, Ortiz was wounded a second time. May of 1943, while recovering from the wound, he was assigned to the OSS, a secretive organization and predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Ortiz was a graduate of both the Legion's and Marine Corps' parachute schools. Having lived in France he was fluent in that language; he also spoke nine other languages and was fluent in five.
His team dropped into France on a moonless January night in 1944. Per standard SOE practice, they wore civilian clothes, but carried their uniforms.
Ortiz's team helped organize and lead elements of the French underground forces known as the "Marquis", and assisted in the rescue of four downed RAF pilots.
http://a2.cpimg.com/image/90/78/50984592-ac9d-01800200-.jpg
In the course of his duties he began frequenting a nightclub in Lyons that catered to German officers. This enabled Ortiz to gain much information regarding German activities in the area, which he turned to good use against the Germans.
One night, while Ortiz sat with the German officers at the club in Lyons, an enemy soldier damned President Franklin Roosevelt. He then damned the United States of America. And then, for whatever reason, he damned the United States Marine Corps (Ortiz later wrote that he "could not, for the life of me, figure why a German officer would so dislike American Marines when, chances were, he'd never met one.")
This proved a great mistake. Captain Ortiz left the nightclub, and returned wearing his Marine uniform under a long raincoat. He got everyone's attention, opened his raincoat revealing his Marine uniform…and a .45 automatic in each hand. When the shooting stopped, there were fewer Nazis to plan his capture and Ortiz had slipped into the night.
He was to spend most of his time in France in the southeastern region known as the Haute Savoie, which was of special interest to General Charles de Gaulle, as well as to the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the OSS.
Not only were there some 3,000 Free French Maquisards in the area, but it was planned to turn the area into a major center of French resistance, to be called on when D-Day arrived.
Organization was difficult because of a money shortage and a lack of transportation. Security at the regional and departmental levels was poor, and there was the country-wide problem of getting resistance organizations with divergent political views to cooperate. The maquisards lacked heavy weapons and much basic gear. In late May 1944, before D-Day at Normandy, Ortiz's team with withdrawn to England for further assignment.
Ortiz returned to France on August 1 as the head of an Operational Group, a new type of OSS mission. These were heavily armed contingents tasked with direct action against the Germans. They were to conduct sabotage, and to seize key installations to prevent retreating German units from destroying them.
Team members were always in uniform. Accompanying Ortiz on this mission were an Air Corps Captain, five Marines (one who died of parachute failure on the initial drop), and a Free French officer carrying false papers identifying him as a Marine.
Just over two weeks after landing, Ortiz and his group were surprised in the town of Centron by elements of the 157th Alpine Reserve Division, consisting of 10-12 heavy trucks in which there were several hundred troops. As the Germans opened fire, the team divided into two groups.
The group of Ortiz and two Marine sergeants received the bulk of the German fire. As they retreated from house to house in Centron, French civilians implored them to give up in order to avoid reprisals. Ortiz ordered the two sergeants to get out while they could, but neither would go without him.
Ortiz recognized that if he and his men shot their way out of the entrapment, local villagers would undoubtedly suffer for Germans deaths which a firefight surely would have produced. He knew of the massacre at Vassieux and the destruction of the town of Oradur-sur-Glane and all of its inhabitants.
Based on how well he was known to the Gestapo, there was no reason to hope that he and his comrades would be treated as ordinary prisoners of war. Mentally prepared for his number to turn up, Ortiz explained the situation to the sergeants and what he intended to do. The sergeants looked Ortiz in the eye and replied, 'Major, we are Marines, what you think is right goes for us too.'"
When a brief lull in the fighting ensued, Ortiz stepped forward and calmly walked toward the Germans as machine gun bullets kicked up dust around him. The firing finally stopped, and Ortiz was able to speak to the German officer in command.
The major agreed to accept the surrender of the Americans and to not harm the townspeople. When only two more Marines appeared, the major demanded to know where the rest of his men were. After a search of the town, the Germans accepted the fact that only three Marines had held off a battalion.
Ortiz was placed at the naval POW camp outside Bremen. He looked for every opportunity to escape, but none presented itself, and he spent the remainder of the war as a POW.
Ortiz's decorations included two Navy Crosses, the Legion of Merit, the Order of the British Empire, and five Croix de Guerre. He also was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French.
After the war, Colonel Ortiz worked with director John Ford, also a former member of the OSS. Two movies were produced depicting the exploits of Ortiz. They were, "13 Rue Madeleine," with James Cagney, and "Operation Secret," with Cornel Wilde. Ortiz also had small parts in such films as, "The Outcast," "Wings of Eagles," and "Rio Grande." He played the part of Major Knott in the film, "Retreat Hell," a movie about the Marines at the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.
Ortiz was a man among men. It is doubtful that his kind has been seen since his time.
Ortiz is one of those bashes that just came to be, for no good reason at all. Off and on, I've been pulling bits and pieces from my various parts bins, figuring to complete a circa Normandy 1944 French Resistance guy.
This afternoon, I started looking at the BBI David Keith Krete Fallschirmjager nude…again. He's one of those guys that just didn't look right as a German or American, I didn't like his color (and had tried fixing it long ago), and I couldn't find anywhere for him to fit.
Today, with a new Sculpey moustache and some new hair, he was going to become a member of the French Resistance.
But, while doing the research, I came across the remarkable story of Ortiz. What could be better than a Jarhead in Europe, winning the war all by himself :lol
His pea coat and necktie are from the Hasbro Home for the Holidays set. His vest is from Dog Soldier. His trousers and cap from one of the Wright Brothers. His shoes, shirt, wine bottle, and Bren gun are from the parts box.
One of the most decorated Marine officers of World War II, Colonel Peter Ortiz served in both Africa and Europe, as a member of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Born in the U.S., Ortiz was educated in France and began his military service in 1932 at the age of 19 with the French Foreign Legion. Ortiz was said to be the youngest sergeant in the history of the Legion. He was wounded in action and imprisoned by the Germans in 1940.
http://a3.cpimg.com/image/7D/77/50984573-01ba-01800200-.jpg
He eventually escaped and made his way to the U.S. After interrogation by Army and Navy intelligence officers, Ortiz was promised a commission.
Ortiz had also been offered commissions by the Free French and the British in Portugal, but he wanted to wear an American uniform. Because of his wounds, he was not fit for immediate active duty. When he heard nothing further about an American commission, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was assigned to boot camp at Parris Island.
At boot camp, Ortiz's experience and background made him a notable and stand-out recruit. Headquarters Marine Corps eventually became aware of and very interested in his record, his duty with the Foreign Legion, and the fact that he was a native French speaker, and less so with German, Spanish, and Arabic.
As a result, he was awarded a Captain's commission, his services were offered to the Army through COMINCH (Chief of Naval Operations/Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet), and he was given a special duty assignment as an assistant naval attaché in Tangier, Morocco. That was just a cover as, while there, he organized patrols of Arab tribesmen to scout German forces on the Tunisian front.
http://a7.cpimg.com/image/3B/75/50984507-f309-01800200-.jpg
Performing combat intelligence in Tunisia, Ortiz was wounded a second time. May of 1943, while recovering from the wound, he was assigned to the OSS, a secretive organization and predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Ortiz was a graduate of both the Legion's and Marine Corps' parachute schools. Having lived in France he was fluent in that language; he also spoke nine other languages and was fluent in five.
His team dropped into France on a moonless January night in 1944. Per standard SOE practice, they wore civilian clothes, but carried their uniforms.
Ortiz's team helped organize and lead elements of the French underground forces known as the "Marquis", and assisted in the rescue of four downed RAF pilots.
http://a2.cpimg.com/image/90/78/50984592-ac9d-01800200-.jpg
In the course of his duties he began frequenting a nightclub in Lyons that catered to German officers. This enabled Ortiz to gain much information regarding German activities in the area, which he turned to good use against the Germans.
One night, while Ortiz sat with the German officers at the club in Lyons, an enemy soldier damned President Franklin Roosevelt. He then damned the United States of America. And then, for whatever reason, he damned the United States Marine Corps (Ortiz later wrote that he "could not, for the life of me, figure why a German officer would so dislike American Marines when, chances were, he'd never met one.")
This proved a great mistake. Captain Ortiz left the nightclub, and returned wearing his Marine uniform under a long raincoat. He got everyone's attention, opened his raincoat revealing his Marine uniform…and a .45 automatic in each hand. When the shooting stopped, there were fewer Nazis to plan his capture and Ortiz had slipped into the night.
He was to spend most of his time in France in the southeastern region known as the Haute Savoie, which was of special interest to General Charles de Gaulle, as well as to the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the OSS.
Not only were there some 3,000 Free French Maquisards in the area, but it was planned to turn the area into a major center of French resistance, to be called on when D-Day arrived.
Organization was difficult because of a money shortage and a lack of transportation. Security at the regional and departmental levels was poor, and there was the country-wide problem of getting resistance organizations with divergent political views to cooperate. The maquisards lacked heavy weapons and much basic gear. In late May 1944, before D-Day at Normandy, Ortiz's team with withdrawn to England for further assignment.
Ortiz returned to France on August 1 as the head of an Operational Group, a new type of OSS mission. These were heavily armed contingents tasked with direct action against the Germans. They were to conduct sabotage, and to seize key installations to prevent retreating German units from destroying them.
Team members were always in uniform. Accompanying Ortiz on this mission were an Air Corps Captain, five Marines (one who died of parachute failure on the initial drop), and a Free French officer carrying false papers identifying him as a Marine.
Just over two weeks after landing, Ortiz and his group were surprised in the town of Centron by elements of the 157th Alpine Reserve Division, consisting of 10-12 heavy trucks in which there were several hundred troops. As the Germans opened fire, the team divided into two groups.
The group of Ortiz and two Marine sergeants received the bulk of the German fire. As they retreated from house to house in Centron, French civilians implored them to give up in order to avoid reprisals. Ortiz ordered the two sergeants to get out while they could, but neither would go without him.
Ortiz recognized that if he and his men shot their way out of the entrapment, local villagers would undoubtedly suffer for Germans deaths which a firefight surely would have produced. He knew of the massacre at Vassieux and the destruction of the town of Oradur-sur-Glane and all of its inhabitants.
Based on how well he was known to the Gestapo, there was no reason to hope that he and his comrades would be treated as ordinary prisoners of war. Mentally prepared for his number to turn up, Ortiz explained the situation to the sergeants and what he intended to do. The sergeants looked Ortiz in the eye and replied, 'Major, we are Marines, what you think is right goes for us too.'"
When a brief lull in the fighting ensued, Ortiz stepped forward and calmly walked toward the Germans as machine gun bullets kicked up dust around him. The firing finally stopped, and Ortiz was able to speak to the German officer in command.
The major agreed to accept the surrender of the Americans and to not harm the townspeople. When only two more Marines appeared, the major demanded to know where the rest of his men were. After a search of the town, the Germans accepted the fact that only three Marines had held off a battalion.
Ortiz was placed at the naval POW camp outside Bremen. He looked for every opportunity to escape, but none presented itself, and he spent the remainder of the war as a POW.
Ortiz's decorations included two Navy Crosses, the Legion of Merit, the Order of the British Empire, and five Croix de Guerre. He also was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French.
After the war, Colonel Ortiz worked with director John Ford, also a former member of the OSS. Two movies were produced depicting the exploits of Ortiz. They were, "13 Rue Madeleine," with James Cagney, and "Operation Secret," with Cornel Wilde. Ortiz also had small parts in such films as, "The Outcast," "Wings of Eagles," and "Rio Grande." He played the part of Major Knott in the film, "Retreat Hell," a movie about the Marines at the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.
Ortiz was a man among men. It is doubtful that his kind has been seen since his time.
Ortiz is one of those bashes that just came to be, for no good reason at all. Off and on, I've been pulling bits and pieces from my various parts bins, figuring to complete a circa Normandy 1944 French Resistance guy.
This afternoon, I started looking at the BBI David Keith Krete Fallschirmjager nude…again. He's one of those guys that just didn't look right as a German or American, I didn't like his color (and had tried fixing it long ago), and I couldn't find anywhere for him to fit.
Today, with a new Sculpey moustache and some new hair, he was going to become a member of the French Resistance.
But, while doing the research, I came across the remarkable story of Ortiz. What could be better than a Jarhead in Europe, winning the war all by himself :lol
His pea coat and necktie are from the Hasbro Home for the Holidays set. His vest is from Dog Soldier. His trousers and cap from one of the Wright Brothers. His shoes, shirt, wine bottle, and Bren gun are from the parts box.
