Named for his paternal grandfather, John R. McKnight was born to Tom McKnight and Maggie Dougherty on June 21, 1921. "Jack", as he was nicknamed, grew up in Greenfield, an Irish ghetto overlooking the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The McKnights had plenty of family in Greenfield and beyond. Grandfather John settled there in 1881 with his wife Annie Quinn and they raised thirteen children. |
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| Most of the McKnight children remained in the city producing a large extended family. They were the typical brawling fun loving Irish, always full of emotion at either a wedding or a wake. During his youth Jack saw his family prosper in the 1920s and survive the hard times of the Depression. He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1939 and began working as a mechanic's helper on the Monongahala Connecting Railroad located inside Jones and Laughlin Steel. Jack had become part of a tradition, as one of many men from Greenfield who made the daily walk down the hill to the mill. In early 1941 Jack met a young nurse in training, Catherine "Kitty" Nash. Kitty and Jack were soon seeing each other quite often. The events of December 7, 1941 would radically alter the lives of all Americans. |
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 Pittsburgh Press Headlines- December 8, 1941 |
Jack and Kitty were no exception. Besides being drawn into the patriotic fever that swept the nation, Jack knew it was only a matter of time before he would be called into service. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves for two years.
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