Shelby Shopper Shelby NC
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Thursday, March 28-April 3, 2019 www.shelbyinfo.com 704/484-1047 - shelby shopper & info - Page 15 Piedmont Shrine Club SATURDAY APRIL 6, 2019 12 Noon Until 7 PM At Friendship Masonic Lodge 722 McBrayer Homestead Rd. 722 McBrayer Homestead Rd. Boiling Springs, N Boiling Springs, NC $12.00 Per Plate ALL YOU CAN EAT Eat-In Or Carry Out Oak Grove United Methodist Church 418 Oak Grove Clover Hill Ch. Rd. Lawndale, NC 4 4 th th Annual Annual For Additional Info or to Place Order, Call 828-442-6776 PRESALE/PREPAID BOSTON BUTTS AVAILABLE FOR SALE. AVAILABLE FOR SALE. Cost: $35. Includes slaw and sauce. Must be ordered and paid for by March 30 th . PR SAL /PR PA D BOS O PRESALE/PREPAID BOSTO COST: $ 11 11 - Kids 6-12: $ 6 5 and under FREE FREE SATURDAY, APRIL 6 SATURDAY, APRIL 6 th th , 2019 , 2019 4:00-7:00pm ALL YOU CAN EAT ALL YOU CAN EAT PORK BBQ & CHICKEN PORK BBQ & CHICKEN With All The Trimmings and Dessert Drive Thru Take Out Available By Stan Cromlish Special to Community First Media Members of the Greatest Generation and veterans of World War II have been passing away lately with an increased frequency, and this week was not much different. On Monday, March 19, 2019, Pearl Harbor survivor Gene Reinhardt of Belmont, died at 97 years young, leaving behind his wife of seventy years, Mary Ella, and a grateful nation. Numbers vary, but now there could be as few as 1,000 Pearl Harbor survivors still living. Gene served in the United States Army during World War II. He was born in Shelby, North Carolina on September 2, 1921 to James Obie and Emma Hendrix Reinhardt. In 1938 or 1939, Gene told me his uncle came home from Hawaii talking about getting paid by the US Army to serve in paradise. On January 19, 1940, Thomas Eugene "Gene" Reinhardt enlisted in the United States Army with the idea that he would spend two years overseas in Hawaii to satisfy the three- year enlistment required by the pre-war mil- itary. In April 1940, Gene was shipped to Hawaii where he volunteered for the 24th Di- vision Signal Corps and was assigned to the brand-new Schofi eld Barracks. In January 2015, I sat down with Gene and recorded an oral history. "Hawaii was a paradise during the pre-war period, and with very little happening, the Army had to keep us busy, Gene said. "We sodded the area in front of our brand-new white barracks with squares of grass." Hawaii was truly a paradise for Gene. "With a promotion to PFC (Private First Class), I bought a '28 or '29 Nash Touring car," he recalled. "On payday, we'd fi ll it up with gas and tool down to Honolulu and see the sights." The best laid plans are sometimes derailed by things beyond an individual's control, and Gene's life was changed on December 7, 1941. When Japan attacked the island of Oahu and Pearl Harbor on that fateful Sunday, the United States and Gene Reinhardt were fl ung headlong into war. "I heard the fi rst bomb, heard the second bomb, and saw the third bomb dropped that started World War II," he said. "They hit us at Schofi eld Barracks before they hit the ships at Pearl Harbor." Once the smoke cleared and the damage was assessed, the 24th Division and its Sig- nal Corps Unit was sent to Australia to take the fi ght to the Japanese. Gene saw combat on Hollandia and made two island invasions during his time in the Signal Corps. In August 1943, Gene was discharged from the United States Army at Fort Bragg with only bus fare back home to Shelby. In the wide-ranging conversation we had, Gene talked about coming to Belmont in 1955 and building the house that he and Mary Ella shared for 64 years in Amity Acres. They would travel the country as part of the Airstream Club and Motor Home Club. Gene made several trips back to Hawaii to remem- ber those who made the supreme sacrifi ce on that "date which will live in infamy". He was an active member of the Belmont Lodge #627 A. F. & A. M. and was a member of the World War II Last Man Club of Gaston County. At First Baptist Church, he served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, mentor, and friend to many members of the church. From the time he left the Army until his death last week, Gene lived, laughed, and loved life and his family fully. His family, Mary Ella, daughters, Sandra and Wanda, his grand- children, and great-grandchildren meant ev- erything to him. In his memorial service on Saturday, March 23, his grandchildren shared fond memories of their 'Granddaddy.' His love of family shone brightly during their remem- brances. Gene, like many of his fellow Pearl Harbor Survivors and generation, would never call himself a hero, but the men and women who served and sacrifi ced during the Great De- pression and World War II are all heroes for what they witnessed, endured, and overcame. Let us never forget their sacrifi ce. Editor's Note: Cromlish has spent the past three Decembers visiting Pearl Harbor, Scho- fi eld Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfi eld, and the Punchbowl National Cemetery to record the history of those men and women whose mem- ories of that fateful Sunday are still fresh, even 77 years later. With an invite from USS Arizo- na Survivor, Lt. Cmdr. Lou Conter (ret.), Crom- lish plans to attend the 78th Remembrance o f the Attack and will once again drop fl owers in the waters Pearl Harbor in honor and memory of all those who served. Pearl Harbor survivor Gene Reinhardt dies Gene Reinhardt John Tedesco with his grandchildren Emma and Grayson McLauchlin at the Spring at the Mill Craft Fair on March 23rd. Photo by Jeff Melton Your favorite publications... 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