George Snavely Rentz (July 25, 1882 – March 1, 1942) was a United States Navy chaplain who served during World War I and World War II. For selfless heroism following the loss of in the Battle of Sunda Strait, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross— the only Navy Chaplain to be so honored during World War II. Personal history George Rentz was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He received his undergraduate degree in 1903 from Gettysburg College which was then known as Pennsylvania College. While attending he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Rentz subsequently graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1909. For the next eight years he served as a Presbyterian minister for the Presbytery of Northumberland, as well as pastoring churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Upon the entry of the United States in World War I, he was appointed acting chaplain with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and assigned to the 11th Marine Regiment in France, where he served until 1919. Rentz attained the rank of Commander in 1924. As chaplain, he served aboard , , , and his final duty station, Houston. During his military career, Rentz also served at the Marine Barracks in Port Royal, South Carolina, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and Naval Air Station San Diego, California. USS Houston Commander Rentz transferred from the Augusta to the Houston in 1940 when it relieved Augusta as the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. Rentz was a crew favorite, even going so far as to ignore regulations and dispense nips of alcohol as needed to the exhausted sailors. During a Japanese attack on Houston at the Battle of Makassar Strait on February 4, 1942, Commander Rentz spurned cover and circulated among the crew of the anti-aircraft battery, keeping up their spirits. It was noted that, when crew members at the guns "… saw this man of God, walking fearlessly among them, they no longer felt alone." In the Flores Sea, during this attack, Houston took a direct hit that disabled turret III and killed 48 men. Less than a month later, Houston and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth (D29) were directed to proceed to Ceylon, where they were supposed to attack Japanese naval supply lines. En route, the two ships unexpectedly encountered a Japanese invasion force, resulting in the encounter now known as the Battle of Sunda Strait.