Peter J. Ortiz was the most battle-decorated member of the OSS, America’s wartime forerunner to the CIA, and one of the most decorated Marines of the Second World War. In 1944, the former French Foreign Legionnaire twice parachuted into occupied France to arm the Maquis, sabotage German lines, and feed intelligence to London ahead of D-Day. Chris speaks with former Marine and CIA historian Nicholas Reynolds and journalist Katie S. Sanders—whose grandfather, a downed airman, was among those Ortiz rescued—about their book Ortiz’s War, and the moment when Ortiz surrendered to a hundred Germans to spare a village.
Subscribe and share to stay ahead in the world of intelligence, global issues, and current affairs.Order Ortiz’s War: https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/harper-horizon/ortizs-war/
More about Nicholas and Katie on their websites:
https://www.nicholasreynoldsauthor.com/
https://www.katiessanders.com/
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Music by Andrew R. Bird
Photos by Marine Corps History Division, Imperial War Museums
Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.
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