Nicholas Reynolds — Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France - with Dr. Jeffrey Rogg — at Conn Ave
Nicholas Reynolds will discuss his new book *Ortiz’s War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France* with Dr. Jeffrey Rogg at Politics and Prose’s Connecticut Avenue location. The book tells the remarkable true story of Peter J. Ortiz, a New York-born adventurer who became the most battle-decorated member of the Office of Strategic Services and one of the most decorated Marines of World War II. Ortiz’s unconventional path included work as a merchant seaman, dude ranch manager, race car driver, lion tamer, circus performer, and Hollywood stuntman and actor, along with a teenage escape from boarding school in France to join the French Foreign Legion. After being wounded and captured while fighting the Germans in 1940, he escaped repeatedly, once fleeing a hospital train disguised as a dead soldier. He enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after Pearl Harbor and, thanks to his native French and working knowledge of Arabic, German, and Spanish, was recruited by the OSS for special operations in North Africa and Europe.
In 1944, Ortiz parachuted into France on two top-secret inter-Allied missions, arming and training the Maquis, sabotaging Nazi infrastructure, and helping downed Allied airmen while rotating covers that included a fashion designer and a minor Vichy government official. He was among the Gestapo’s most wanted by the time he escaped across the Pyrenees. Later, he jumped back into the French Alps with a team of Americans for “Le Grand Parachutage,” a massive supply drop to the French resistance, and faced a harrowing choice when his patrol was surrounded by more than one hundred Germans at the village of Centron. Reynolds, a former Marine infantry officer and CIA historian, will be joined in conversation by Dr. Jeffrey Rogg, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Clements Center for National Security.
When: Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008.
Tickets: This event is free, with first come, first served seating.
Livestream: Those who cannot attend in person can join the event via livestream using the link provided on the event page.
Lineup: Author Nicholas Reynolds in conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Rogg, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Clements Center for National Security and associate director of scholarship for the Intelligence Studies Project.
About the book: *Ortiz’s War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France*, by Nicholas Reynolds with Katie Sanders, is available for preorder as a hardcover for $29.99, with a publication date of August 25, 2026.
Accessibility: To request accommodations or ask about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com, ideally one week before the event date. All requests will be accommodated as possible up to the time of the event.
Note: This event is presented in the Non Fiction section and is part of the store’s author event programming at the Connecticut Avenue location.