First Lieutenant Rhinehart was the pilot of a F-86E Sabre Jet fighter bomber with the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group. On January 29, 1952, while on a combat mission, his engine experienced a flame out and he bailed out of his aircraft. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on February 28, 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.