Eighty days after the armistice was declared on November 11, 1918, Painter received the highest French honor, the Légion d'honneur award.

[2] After his discharge, Painter pursued a career as a blacksmith and married his childhood sweetheart, Gillie Watson.

On 20 September 2000, Tennessee Representative Bart Gordon read a proclamation in honor of John's 112th birthday.

[3] Governor Don Sundquist also declared on his birthday "John Painter Day" in Tennessee[2] On March 1, 2001, John Painter died aged 112 years, 162 days at his home in Hermitage Springs, Tennessee of a heart attack.

This biographical article related to World War I United States Army is a stub.