Peter J. Ortiz

Pierre (Peter) Julien Ortiz OBE (July 5, 1913 – May 16, 1988) was a United States Marine Corps colonel who received two Navy Crosses for extraordinary heroism as a major in World War II. He served in North Africa and Europe during the war, as a member of the French Foreign Legion, the U.S. Marines and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), operating behind enemy lines several times. Ortiz also acted in Hollywood films after the war. He was one of the very few U.S. Marines to serve in combat in Europe during World War II, and one of the most decorated Marine officers of the war. Early life Ortiz was born in New York to an American mother of Swiss descent and a French-born Spanish father. He was educated at the University of Grenoble in France. He spoke ten languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German and Arabic. French Foreign Legion On February 1, 1932, at the age of 19, Ortiz joined the French Foreign Legion for five years' service in North Africa. He was sent to the Legion's training camp at Sidi Bel-Abbes in French Algeria. He later served in Morocco, where he was promoted to corporal in 1933 and sergeant in 1935. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre twice during a campaign against the Riffian people. He also received the Médaille militaire. As an acting lieutenant, he was offered a commission as a second lieutenant if he re-enlisted. Instead, when his contract expired in 1937, he returned to the United States to serve as a technical adviser for war films in Hollywood. World War II With the outbreak of World War II and the United States still neutral, Ortiz re-enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in October 1939 as a sergeant, receiving a battlefield commission in May 1940. He was wounded while blowing up a fuel dump and captured by the Germans during the 1940 Battle of France. He escaped the following year via Lisbon and made his way to the United States.