Donald C. Reese

Donald C. Reese US Army Retired, First Sergeant (E-8), 22 year service (1964-1986), Age 76. Don passed away, February 2, 2023 at the Canoe Brook Assisted Living facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where he was a resident the last 10 years of his life. Don’s death was preceded by that of his father Herbert E. Reese, his mother Martha Holeton Reese and his younger brother Dale E. Reese. Don is survived by his sister Carol Ann Reese Bulford of Newark, Delaware; and his younger brother Gary Reese also of Newark, Delaware; his niece Staci E. Coulbourn (and husband Frank) of North East, MD; his nephew Paul E. Reese (and wife Jennifer and his children) of Pearland, TX; and his step-son Eric Blackston of Bixby, Oklahoma. Don joined the US Army in the summer following his graduation from Penns Grove Regional High School in 1964. Don was an Eagle Scout and hiked the Appalachian Trail with Scout Troop 10 of Carney’s Point with his father and two brothers finishing on July 4th of 1964 and started his basic training at Ft. Dix, NJ on July 8th. After completing basic training at Ft. Dix, Don attended Helicopter Mechanics school at Ft. Eustus near Newport News, Virginia. Don served one tour in Korea, and two tours in Vietnam, then for a short time a Recruiting Sergeant in Salem County but then volunteered to return to his third tour in Vietnam in 1973. During Don’s first tour in Vietnam he served as a crew chief of a helicopter during the most active times of that conflict. A crew chief’s duties are to manage the crew, perform maintenance to the helicopter, make seating assignments and make sure any cargo is stored in proper places and man the machine gun during flight. Air Medals are awarded for 25 combat flight hours – Don received a cluster of 11 Air Medals during that tour and survived twice having his craft shot down by enemy fire. His other tours in Vietnam he served as a base flight coordinator – scheduling copter flights in and out of their bases. Don was stationed in Hawaii for about 3 years before returning state-side to serve at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina where he obtained the rank of First Sergeant (E-8) and was the Top Sergeant at that basic training facility for several years before retiring. Don then worked for the Sonoco Products Company in Columbia, South Carolina for a few years before being transferred to one of their facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He retired from the Sonoco Products Company after experiencing a fall and fracturing his tail bone – which led him to move into the Canoe Brook Assisted Living facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where they cared for him well these past 10 years. Don had four different Mercury Cougar automobiles. The initial two door 1967 hard top coupe was his first, followed by a 1969 metallic blue convertible with a 350 hp engine and 4 speed transmission, then he had a 1970 black Cougar Eliminator with a 428 Cobra Jet engine. After his third tour in Vietnam he got his fourth, a 1974 Cougar XR-7 4-door model which was more conservative. Don will be interned at the Finns Point National Cemetery at Ft. Mott in Salem County at 1pm on Wednesday March 15th with a Military Honors service (which will include taps and a flag folding ceremony and the burial of his Urn). There will be no other activity except for this ceremony or following this interment.

Donald C. Reese

July 19, 1946 - February 2, 2023