A1C Daniel Cortez Reese was killed in action on 9 March 1967, when the EC-47 aircraft, callsign TIDE 86, on which he was serving as an Airborne Morse Systems Operator, was downed by enemy fire over South Vietnam. Tide 86 was the first EC-47 lost to enemy fire.

A1C Reese was born on 1 July 1944, in Bluefield, VA and graduated from Tazewell County High School, VA in 1961.

A1C Reese enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on 1 August 1963, completing basic training at Lackland AFB, TX and Morse Code training at Keesler AFB, MS. He was then assigned to the 6917th Security Group, Kelly AFB, TX. On 20 October 1966, A1C Reese was reassigned to Det 1, 6994th Security Squadron, Nha Trang Air Base, Vietnam.

A1C Reese’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart (Posthumously) and Vietnam Service Medal.

A1C Reese is interred at the Oak Grove Cemetery, Bluewell, WV. A1C Reese’s name is engraved on the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall on Panel 16E, line 48. In 1977, the road leading to the ski lodge on Misawa Air Base was dedicated in A1C Reese’s memory.