They can't take that away from me : the odyssey of an American POW / Ralph M. Rentz with Peter Hrisko.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rentz, Ralph M., 1918-

Contributor:

Hrisko, Peter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rentz, Ralph M., 1918-.

Rentz, Ralph M.

United States. Army. Air Corps.

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.

World War, 1939-1945.

Prisoners of war--United States--Biography.

Prisoners of war.

United States.

Indonesia--Java.

Prisoners of war--Indonesia--Java--Biography.

United States. Army. Air Corps--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 236 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, [2003]

Summary:

"What does it take to survive as a POW? Guts?Prayer? Luck? Or could it be hate?"Ralph Rentz grew up in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, with one dream: to be a professional musician.Playing clarinet, saxophone, and flute in 1930sbig bands, Rentz wanted no part of the loomingconflict that would become WWII. At twenty-one, hejoined the National Guard to avoid being drafted. Tendays later, he was called up for active duty. Fearfulof friendly fire, Rentz then signed up with the ArmyAir Corps, where he trained to be a radio operator.While on a secret mission in the Pacific, Rentz'sB-17 was shot down over Malang, Java, where heand the rest of the crew were captured and becameJapanese POWs. Surviving dysentery, pleurisy, dryberi-beri, tuberculosis, and slave labor, Rentz held onto his dream of returning to music and waited for aU.S. invasion that never came.They Can't Take That Away From Me recounts notonly Rentz's devastating three-and-a-half years ofcaptivity, but also his involvement in a secret government mission that has never before been revealed. Rich with the music of his youth, the book conjures up the losses, longing, sacrifices, and stolen dreams of imprisonment and return to the United States. Bittersweet and evocative, They Can't Take That Away From Me explores the irony of human resilience amidst the atrocity of war, and in that survival the unconquerable loss of a man's most cherished dream.

"This is more -- so much more -- than just anotherWorld War II story. Ralph Rentz, an immigrant'sson, survived the war and a Japanese POW campand a difficult homecoming so he could share hislessons withanother generation facing uncertaintimes." -- Tom Brokaw

"They Can't Take That Away From Me is an engrossingbook, a tale both funny and wise, told by a manwho's seen hell and yet writes like an angel. Rentz isa natural master storyteller, and his is a super-chargedadventure yarn brimming with humility, rich with emotions, and hugely entertaining." -- Doug Stanton, author of In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis

Contents:

"I can't get started"

"But not for me"

"Rhapsody in blue"

"What a diff'rence a day made"

"I've heard that song before"

"I'm in love with the honorable Mr. So-and-So"

"You'll never know"

"Sentimental journey"

"Candy"

"The more I see you"

"Taking a chance on love"

"Swinging on a star"

"Strange fruit"

"We'll meet again"

"Do nothing till you hear from me"

"It's all in the game"

"Don't get around much anymore"

"Look for the silver lining"

"Body and soul"

"Nice work if you can get it"

"Chattanooga choo choo"

"Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week"

"Between the devil and the deep blue sea"

"The nearness of you"

"I don't want to set the world on fire"

"June is bustin' out all over"

"I get a kick out of you"

"Someone to watch over me"

"Let's face the music"

"I've got you under my skin"

"Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered"

"Don't sit under the apple tree (with anyone else but me)"

"I got it bad (and that ain't good)"

"Give me the simple life"

"Let's call the whole thing off"

"Seems like old times"

"Try a little tenderness"

"I can't escape from you"

"Put your dreams away"

"Polka dots and moonbeams"

"I'll be seeing you".

ISBN:

0870136720

OCLC:

51223644