RINEHART, John Alexander, service number 1835466, Fireman First Class, U.S. Navy. John Alexander RINEHART, better known as Jack RINEHART, was born 23 October 1895 in Decatur County, Tennessee. He was the son of James Eliha RINEHART and Leona Drucilla HARDIN. He parents died when he was very young. He, his sisters, Bessie Gideon RINEHART MOORE and Fannie (Margaret Frances) RINEHART STEELE and his brother, Thomas Grimes RINEHART were reared by their grandfather, Gideon HARDIN in Clifton, Wayne County, Tennessee.

Jack attended the public schools and was a graduate of Frank Hughes High School in Clifton.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 8 July 1917 and served on the U.S.S. Frederick as Fireman First Class until his discharge on 10 June 1919. During this service time he made thirteen trips to France and South America. Found among his memoirs was the Christmas Dinner Menu of 1917 while on board the U.S.S. Frederick.

Jack RINEHART married Lena Mae ROBINSON of Selmer, Tennessee on 10 May 1934. Their two children are Emma Leona (Emma Lee) RINEHART BOND and James Linley RINEHART. Emma Lee married James Curlin BOND on 2 January 1960, and James Linley married Willie Jean GRAVE on 3 September 1961.

His grandchildren number seven. James Curlin BOND Jr., and Margaret Lee BOND are deceased. Other grandchildren are Martha Linley BOND DOLINAK, Emily Alexander BOND, Kathryn Jean RINEHART, Nancy Lee RINEHART, and Laura Kate RINEHART. The two great-grandchildren are Stephen Thomas DOLINAK, Jr., and Margaret BOND DOLINAK.

After World War I, Jack worked for Ford Motor Company in Memphis, Tennessee and Sinclair Oil Refining Company in Selmer, Tennessee. At the outbreak of World War 2, he participated in the war effort by working at the Navy Yard in Charleston, SC and serving in the U.S. Coast Guard as a civilian volunteer. Following World War 2 he worked with the State Highway Engineers and a gas company.

Jack RINEHART died 11 July 1956 at the Veterans’ Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery at Selmer, Tennessee, his home for many years.

He was a long time member of the First Methodist Church and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a Mason.

To his family he shared a great love for his country and set an example of patriotism and loyalty. He was a loving and caring husband and father and A Friend To All. His friends were many and his love for Clifton and Wayne County never became less because of his residence elsewhere.