GyGUSMCRet
03-23-03, 02:49 AM
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http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=135069&messageid=1048408684
From :
Ben Frank XXXXX
To :
gunnyg@hotmail.com
Subject :
Fwd: CCFYI: Fw: Incredible Story of an exceptional Marine
Date :
Wed, 22 May 2002 12:31:11 -0400
Reply Reply All Forward Delete Printer Friendly Version
Dick, here is the article I wrote about Ortiz. Ben
COLONEL PETER JULIEN ORTIZ, OSS MARINE
Written by Benis Frank, a now retired Marine Corps historian
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=135069&messageid=1048408684
While preparing the Marine POWs appendix for Victory and Occupation,
vol. V of History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, to
locate the names and places of the various POW camps in which Marines
were incarcerated, I had to use the casualty report prepared by the
Reports and Statistical Unit, Personnel Service Branch at Headquarters
Marine Corps. This report was prepared in 1952, and is the final
accounting of Marine casualties in World War II. It was one of these
very wide machine records printout with a large number of columns, each
one having its own code for a prison camp or for POWs, or whether the
individual was KIA, WIA, or Missing in Action Presumed Dead. As I went
from the printout to the code sheet, I was surprised to find that a
handful of Marines had been captured in Europe. I immediately assumed
that these may have been OSS Marines, and to validate this assumption, I
randomly selected the name of one of the POWs, Major Peter J. Ortiz, and
retrieved from the St. Louis personnel records center his officer's
qualification jacket.
A review of the jacket revealed to me a brand new area of Marine Corps
history, i.e., the story of the Marines who served in Europe with the
OSS. I had previously known that such Marines existed, but not very much
about their activities, because they were for the most part classified
and besides, as a Marine Corps historian of Marine operations in the
Pacific, that is where my attention was focused. As it turned out,
Ortiz' exploits before he enlisted in the Marine Corps were as
spectacular as his World War II experiences. So dramatic were his
adventures--that is a very weak word when describing what he did, but it
will have to suffice--that two movies were made about his
accomplishments. One was not too bad a movie, "13 Rue Madeleine," with
James Cagney, and the second, a not too good one. This was "Operation
Secret," with Cornell Wilde. As I later learned, Ortiz worked on the
script of "13 Rue Madeleine," and for many Hollywood OSS and Foreign
Legion pictures, he was the technical director. [Jacq': He also acted in
several pictures.] However, as I researched and read about Ortiz'
exploits in Europe, I became convinced that in his case, there was no
way by which art could imitate life.......................
CONTINUED--Click on Link at top of page....
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=135069&messageid=1048408684
From :
Ben Frank XXXXX
To :
gunnyg@hotmail.com
Subject :
Fwd: CCFYI: Fw: Incredible Story of an exceptional Marine
Date :
Wed, 22 May 2002 12:31:11 -0400
Reply Reply All Forward Delete Printer Friendly Version
Dick, here is the article I wrote about Ortiz. Ben
COLONEL PETER JULIEN ORTIZ, OSS MARINE
Written by Benis Frank, a now retired Marine Corps historian
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=135069&messageid=1048408684
While preparing the Marine POWs appendix for Victory and Occupation,
vol. V of History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, to
locate the names and places of the various POW camps in which Marines
were incarcerated, I had to use the casualty report prepared by the
Reports and Statistical Unit, Personnel Service Branch at Headquarters
Marine Corps. This report was prepared in 1952, and is the final
accounting of Marine casualties in World War II. It was one of these
very wide machine records printout with a large number of columns, each
one having its own code for a prison camp or for POWs, or whether the
individual was KIA, WIA, or Missing in Action Presumed Dead. As I went
from the printout to the code sheet, I was surprised to find that a
handful of Marines had been captured in Europe. I immediately assumed
that these may have been OSS Marines, and to validate this assumption, I
randomly selected the name of one of the POWs, Major Peter J. Ortiz, and
retrieved from the St. Louis personnel records center his officer's
qualification jacket.
A review of the jacket revealed to me a brand new area of Marine Corps
history, i.e., the story of the Marines who served in Europe with the
OSS. I had previously known that such Marines existed, but not very much
about their activities, because they were for the most part classified
and besides, as a Marine Corps historian of Marine operations in the
Pacific, that is where my attention was focused. As it turned out,
Ortiz' exploits before he enlisted in the Marine Corps were as
spectacular as his World War II experiences. So dramatic were his
adventures--that is a very weak word when describing what he did, but it
will have to suffice--that two movies were made about his
accomplishments. One was not too bad a movie, "13 Rue Madeleine," with
James Cagney, and the second, a not too good one. This was "Operation
Secret," with Cornell Wilde. As I later learned, Ortiz worked on the
script of "13 Rue Madeleine," and for many Hollywood OSS and Foreign
Legion pictures, he was the technical director. [Jacq': He also acted in
several pictures.] However, as I researched and read about Ortiz'
exploits in Europe, I became convinced that in his case, there was no
way by which art could imitate life.......................
CONTINUED--Click on Link at top of page....