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The Secret Weapon Ortizs War From Katie Sanders And Nicholas Reynolds · Arroe Collins Like It's Live

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  Speaker 1: So here's the setup for Arrow.net, A-R-R-O-E.net. It's a choice.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: 21 different podcasts to choose from. I know what it's
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: like to be in the car and you're like, oh
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: my God, another true crime podcast. Oh my God, another autobiography.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: You need something like a variety, right? Arrow.net, A-R-R-O-E.net. Go
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: test your knowledge on Music's Lost History. You think you
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: know it? Go have some fun. Music's Lost History, only
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: on Arrow.net. A-R-R-O-E dot net. Enjoy your exploration. The two
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  Speaker 1: of you, this is every bit the reason why I
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  Speaker 1: spend so much time trying to convince people to be
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  Speaker 1: daily writers. Because this story right here of Ortiz and
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  Speaker 1: your grandfather, this is every bit the reason why history
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  Speaker 1: is hidden and it takes people like yourself to go
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  Speaker 1: dig it up. But if people are not writing, if
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  Speaker 1: people are not sharing the stories, then those of the
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  Speaker 1: future don't have a story and they don't know what
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  Speaker 1: it was really like. And I'm so, so charged up
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  Speaker 1: by this project that you guys have put together.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: You could have been a historian.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Journalists, there's parallels.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I can't imagine the research. In fact, I
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  Speaker 1: want to see your notes only because I'm a researcher
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  Speaker 1: myself and I love looking at other people's notes and
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  Speaker 1: what you scratched out. And I go, really? I wonder
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  Speaker 1: what you were thinking when you scratched that out. What
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  Speaker 1: wasn't it? You know, why wasn't it important for this
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  Speaker 1: right here? But I just there's just so much here
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  Speaker 1: that I bet. But that's me. And I want the
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  Speaker 1: listeners and the readers to go. I had no idea.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't find that on the History Channel.
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  Speaker 3: One thing we like about Ortiz is he lives so
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  Speaker 3: many different lives, right? He's born in New York, grew
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  Speaker 3: up part of his life in Paris and other parts
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  Speaker 3: of France, and he joins the Foreign Legion. He becomes
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  Speaker 3: a lion tamer, race car driver, rides camels in the desert,
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  Speaker 3: fights tribesmen in the mountains of Morocco, eventually joins the
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  Speaker 3: Marine Corps.
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  Speaker 2: And then he joins the OSS, the.
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  Speaker 3: Office of Strategic Services, which is the forerunner of the CIA.
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  Speaker 3: And in Marine Corps uniform, he returns to Europe to
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  Speaker 3: fight the Germans while the rest of the Marine Corps
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  Speaker 3: is fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. So right there,
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  Speaker 3: you've got just enough for a biography.
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  Speaker 1: To bring it into storybook form, because to me it
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  Speaker 1: doesn't feel like I'm sitting here with a history teacher.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, you really do put it in a way
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  Speaker 1: that is very relatable, and I feel like that it's
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  Speaker 1: happening even as we speak. What was that like? Because
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  Speaker 1: was that your editor going, redo it, redo it, make
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  Speaker 1: it more believable, make it more about what people can
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  Speaker 1: relate with?
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's Mr.
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  Speaker 3: Footnote here being made less clunky by a very skilled co-author.
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  Speaker 4: That's Nick's nice way of saying, I said, show don't
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  Speaker 4: tell a lot when we were writing. You know, Nick
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  Speaker 4: is a New York Times bestselling author who has done
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  Speaker 4: this a few times, and also he's a historian.
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  Speaker 2: I've come at it from the vantage point of a journalist.
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  Speaker 4: Who– you know, wants people to feel like you're there
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  Speaker 4: with Peter Ortiz. And, you know, in fact, my grandfather
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  Speaker 4: was there with Peter Ortiz and we had some amazing records.
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  Speaker 4: Some of which, you know, were only recently declassified. Some
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  Speaker 4: of which came from the basements of, you know, the descendants,
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  Speaker 4: Pete Jr. and the families of the people parachuting into
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  Speaker 4: France with Ortiz or the French resistance, you know, so
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  Speaker 4: really for us trying to make it a more, you know,
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  Speaker 4: 360 degree look into, you know, his experience his psyche
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  Speaker 4: was a really fun journey and at least Nick I
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  Speaker 4: think it was fun and we really you know there's
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  Speaker 4: so much we learned that that didn't go in the
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  Speaker 4: book but hopefully people feel like they are there with
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  Speaker 4: him and understanding what he was facing in a world
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  Speaker 4: that Uh, felt very complicated.
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  Speaker 1: Well, in, in my own heart here, the more and
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  Speaker 1: more I dug into the story, the more I realized
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  Speaker 1: that superheroes do exist. They don't have to belong to
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  Speaker 1: DC and, and any other comic book. The thing is,
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  Speaker 1: is that this guy is real. And, and I have
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  Speaker 1: to ask you the question, as you were digging into
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  Speaker 1: your research, first of all, he charges me up because
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  Speaker 1: he said yes to a lot of things where people
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  Speaker 1: would have said no and walked away. And that to
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  Speaker 1: me is a true daredevil. Was he a daredevil that
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  Speaker 1: was addicted to excitement or was it that he just
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  Speaker 1: felt it in his heart? Just do it because nobody
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  Speaker 1: else will.
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  Speaker 3: Both.
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, Nick and I have come to this.
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  Speaker 4: He was gravitationally pulled towards the eye of the storm,
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  Speaker 4: but he was also, we've been saying, he was the antithesis,
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  Speaker 4: the opposite of this.
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  Speaker 2: That's not my problem crowd. Like, if your.
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  Speaker 4: Neighbors are being persecuted or rounded up, he's going to
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  Speaker 4: be there to insert himself. And he said, whatever Hitler
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  Speaker 4: does to the Jews, he's going to have to try.
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  Speaker 2: To do to me. And, you know, his body went
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  Speaker 2: through a lot.
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  Speaker 4: He was willing to die on many occasions, and He
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  Speaker 4: is someone who, you know, my grandfather who I never met,
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  Speaker 4: but I was told was not a hyperbolic guy.
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  Speaker 2: He was a pilot shot down, rescued by Ortiz.
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  Speaker 4: He called, you know, to my mom when Ortiz came
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  Speaker 4: to visit later in her life.
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  Speaker 2: You're about to, Jane, you're about to meet a real
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  Speaker 2: life knight of the round table.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, it's going to get even deeper and more intriguing.
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  Speaker 1: We are coming back with Nicholas Reynolds and Katie Saunders.
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  Speaker 1: The name of the book, Ortiz's War, the Allies' Secret
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  Speaker 1: Weapon Against the Nazis in France. We are back with
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  Speaker 1: Nicholas Reynolds and Katie Saunders. I got to tell you
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  Speaker 1: that one of my very good friends is in Ukraine
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  Speaker 1: right now, an American. And I know for a fact
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  Speaker 1: he's not supposed to be over there. But but all
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  Speaker 1: the way through this book, I kept thinking of Peter.
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  Speaker 1: I really did in the way that he's over there
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  Speaker 1: doing things that that that anybody else would have said no.
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  Speaker 1: But he's helping people. He's building bridges. He's trying to
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  Speaker 1: get some peace in an area that has all out war.
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  Speaker 1: and that this book really could be about today as well.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what I want listeners and readers to understand,
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  Speaker 1: that this is not just a period piece, this is
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  Speaker 1: our now as well, and they can be inspired by it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you to your friend for being there.
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  Speaker 4: He was, you know, Peter Ortiz had seen World War
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  Speaker 4: II from a lens, even though he was an American,
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  Speaker 4: from a lens that Americans didn't experience. He came from
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  Speaker 4: the French Foreign Legion, he was fighting, and he knew
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  Speaker 4: what was happening in Europe, and He wasn't content to,
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  Speaker 4: you know, have that be the reality and he wanted
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  Speaker 4: to serve his country.
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  Speaker 2: And he came back on a boat.
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  Speaker 4: There's a great photo of him docking in New York City,
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  Speaker 4: you know, the day after Pearl Harbor on December 8th,
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  Speaker 4: looking so dapper for someone who has just come off of,
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  Speaker 4: you know, prisoner of war and wounded, pretty intense soldier experience.
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  Speaker 2: Marine experience will be what's next in his future. But
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  Speaker 2: he really, you know, comes at it from a place of,
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  Speaker 2: put me in. I'm ready. I have skills and I
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  Speaker 2: want to use them.
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  Speaker 1: So Nick, I got to ask you, were there any
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  Speaker 1: times where you sat there and said, there's no way,
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  Speaker 1: there's no way. And that the more and more you
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  Speaker 1: dug into it, you're going, oh yes, there was a
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  Speaker 1: way he really did do this.
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  Speaker 3: So we were very careful about the facts. There are
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  Speaker 3: moments that we thought, boy, if we don't have some
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  Speaker 3: kind of collateral evidence to bolster this, we can't use it.
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  Speaker 3: Some of the facts are just head scratching. On the
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  Speaker 3: one hand, he is the guy who steps up to
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  Speaker 3: the plate when you need a batter. On the other hand,
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  Speaker 3: there is a part of him that's like, take the
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  Speaker 3: extra risk even if I don't have to. So what
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  Speaker 3: we're left with still is a very remarkable record. And
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  Speaker 3: we sort of parked the other The the incredible stories
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  Speaker 3: we parked them in an appendix and said, reader, dear reader,
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  Speaker 3: please judge for yourself. We couldn't substantiate this, but it's
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  Speaker 3: out there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, but you don't have to exaggerate, Peter Ortiz.
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  Speaker 4: You just, you know, say it like it is and
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  Speaker 4: it reads like how could that possibly be true?
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  Speaker 1: And I think one of the things that's going to
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  Speaker 1: draw so many readers in, and I can't wait to
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  Speaker 1: go and just sit there and watch people at Barnes
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  Speaker 1: & Noble, because when they put this up there at
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  Speaker 1: the front of the store, that book cover alone is
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  Speaker 1: going to be one that's going to draw people in.
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  Speaker 1: But the thing about it is that you guys put
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  Speaker 1: focus on the allies. If they had not collaborated, it
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  Speaker 1: would be a different world today. And in this world
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  Speaker 1: of today where the allies are not collaborating, oh, my God.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, that made me even get deeper into this
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  Speaker 1: story about Peter and everything else that was going on.
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  Speaker 1: Because it has to start somewhere. And if it's going
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  Speaker 1: to be in a book like this that's going to
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  Speaker 1: sponsor people into becoming better collaborators, then go for it.
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  Speaker 1: Because we need this book to teach us what is collaboration.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's funny because we can reclaim the word collaboration
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  Speaker 4: because in the context of World War II, this came
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  Speaker 4: up when Nick and I were partnering on things.
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  Speaker 2: We'd be like, we're collaborating.
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  Speaker 4: And, you know, collaboration in World War II France was
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  Speaker 4: not something you wanted to be a part of so much.
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  Speaker 2: It usually was on what I would call the wrong
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  Speaker 2: side of history.
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  Speaker 4: But I think we're claiming it as something that, you know,
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  Speaker 4: you see Peter Ortiz.
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  Speaker 2: Working with French locals. The resistance is.
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  Speaker 4: You also see him working across all, you know, experience
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  Speaker 4: levels and really bringing people from what he calls an
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  Speaker 4: embryonic resistance movement that Eisenhower will later say was, you know,
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  Speaker 4: an important part of the Allied fight. He's also showing
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  Speaker 4: up there in uniform. This is someone who's parachuting into
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  Speaker 4: France before D-Day first in January of 1944.
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  Speaker 2: And he knows that by wearing.
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  Speaker 4: This bizarre uniform for people who, for really anyone, Marine
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  Speaker 4: uniforms in France, You know, Prix de France aren't common
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  Speaker 4: for many reasons, but he knows that it will be
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  Speaker 4: a morale booster for.
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  Speaker 2: The French resistance, but also make the Nazis feel.
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  Speaker 4: Like the clock is, the jig is up, like the
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  Speaker 4: time that they have left to be occupiers is limited.
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  Speaker 2: So he's really bold in that way.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, 10 minutes with you guys is just not going
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  Speaker 1: to be enough. That's why they've got to go to
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  Speaker 1: your website to find out more about what you're doing,
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  Speaker 1: because this, to me, is the real ingredients of Captain America.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, my God. So where can people go to
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  Speaker 1: find out more about what you guys are doing so
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  Speaker 1: they can get on board and really take in this story?
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  Speaker 2: Thank you. Like you said, Ortiz's War just came out.
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  Speaker 2: So go to your local bookstore, your Barnes and Nobles,
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  Speaker 2: your online, wherever books are sold.
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  Speaker 4: Buy the book and read for yourself.
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  Speaker 2: See what you think.
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  Speaker 4: You can also follow us on at Ortiz's War book.
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  Speaker 4: on Instagram and TikTok. And yeah, we hope to hear
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  Speaker 4: what you think. Please feel free to reach out to
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  Speaker 4: message us and let us know who you think should
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: play Peter Ortiz in a 21st century.
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  Speaker 2: Biopic because he was in Hollywood. John Ford was his
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  Speaker 2: good buddy from the Office of Strategic Services. But again,
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  Speaker 2: most people don't know his name.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm sitting here thinking, who would I pick to act?
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  Speaker 1: And I know we're out of time. So that means
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  Speaker 1: we have to get back together with our notes. We've
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: got to get back together again. And so please come
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: back to this show anytime in the future.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: Be brilliant today, you.
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  Speaker 4: Two, okay?
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  Speaker 1: And thank you for this piece of history. You have
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  Speaker 1: no idea what it means to us.
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  Speaker 2: Likewise. Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you.