{"product_id":"ortizs-war-nicholas-reynolds-9781400256167","title":"Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe untold story of the Allies' secret weapon in occupied France.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeter J. Ortiz's path to becoming the most battle-decorated member of America's first spy agency--and one of the most decorated Marines of World War II--was unlike any other. Born in New York and raised between California and France, he would have stints as a merchant seaman, dude ranch manager, race car driver, lion tamer, circus performer, and Hollywood stuntman and actor. As a teenager, Ortiz ran away from boarding school in France to join the French Foreign Legion. He first experienced combat in North Africa against tribesmen in the Sahara. Fighting on the front lines against the Germans in 1940, he was badly wounded and captured. He repeatedly escaped, one time fleeing a hospital train after assuming the identity of a dead soldier.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDocking in the US the day after Pearl Harbor, Ortiz enlisted in the Marine Corps. As someone who could speak French like a native--and get by in Arabic, German, and Spanish--the dashing former Legionnaire immediately stood out. Instead of being deployed to the Pacific like the majority of Marines, Ortiz was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)--America's World War II forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency--for special operations in North Africa and Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1944, Ortiz parachuted into France on two top-secret inter-Allied missions. Operating deep behind enemy lines, he traveled throughout Southeastern France--at times donning his Marine uniform--arming and training the Maquis, blowing up Nazi infrastructure, and aiding downed Allied airmen. Rotating his many covers--including as a fashion designer and minor Vichy government official--he infiltrated Nazi gatherings and funneled intelligence about German positions back to OSS London ahead of D-Day. By the time he escaped across the Pyrenees, he was among the Gestapo's most wanted. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo months after the Normandy landings, Ortiz jumped back into the French Alps, this time with a team of Americans he recruited for \"Le Grand Parachutage,\" a drop that sent more than 150 tons of supplies raining down to the Maquis to fight the Axis. When his six-man patrol was surrounded by more than one hundred Germans at the village of Centron, Ortiz faced a choice: fight the enemy or save the village from Nazi annihilation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA rare Marine in the European Theater, he received two Navy Crosses. Ortiz's story--an untold corner of World War II history--is one of extraordinary courage, resistance, and self-sacrifice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Nicholas Reynolds,Katie Sanders\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 140025616X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781400256167\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harper Horizon\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/25\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Nicholas Reynolds","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48483400581375,"sku":"9781400256167","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ae0b612f-7eee-43af-894b-afe298c30093.jpg?v=1778038565","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/ortizs-war-nicholas-reynolds-9781400256167","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}