It was reported that Gearhard was a witness to Sergeant Alvin York's Medal of Honor-earning action on October 8, 1918.[4]
Returning with his division to the US, after post-war occupation duty, in June 1919, Gearhard was honorably discharged from federal service. He returned to Milwaukee to his pre-war post at St. Michael's Parish. The following year, he moved to become curate at St. Mary's Parish, also in Milwaukee. Then in 1924 he became rector of the Fenwick Home for Boys, also in Milwaukee. He remained here through the inter-war years.[5]
In 1924, Gearhard rejoined the military. He was commissioned an Army Reserve captain in the Chaplain Corps on November 26, 1924. He served in the Army Reserve for the next 17 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In May 1945, Gearhard was one of two chaplains that conducted what was described as “One of the most unusual funeral services of the war."[6] Gearhard and a fellow Army chaplain conducted a funeral service from 11,000 ft in the air. Their plane circled the crash site of the C-47 SkytrainGremlin Special. They held services by radio relayed to the survivors as they circled the crash site.
After retiring from his combined 30 years of military service, Gearhard returned to Milwaukee. He was pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Waukesha, Wisconsin, for 18 years. He fully retired in 1971 and died of unknown causes at age 80 in 1974.
In 2019, Gearhard was inducted into the 82nd Airborne Division Hall of Fame. As part of the second group of inductees, Gearhard was the first chaplain so honored.[9]