DELBERT LEON REESE

HHC 1/22 Infantry

4th Infantry Division

KIA 02/02/1968

Age: 20
Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Date of Birth Aug 21, 1947
From: ESTHER, MO
Religion: BAPTIST
Marital Status: Single

SP4 - E4 - Army - Selective Service
4th Infantry Division
MOS: 91B20 Medical NCO
Length of service 1 years
His tour began on Aug 11, 1967
Casualty was on Feb 2, 1968
In PLEIKU, SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered

Panel 36E - Line 83

Delbert Reese was a medic assigned to 1st Platoon Company D 1/22 Infantry
and was killed in action during the fighting in Kontum City during the Tet Offensive 1968.

SP4 Delbert L. Reese's decorations

Delbert is also eligible to receive the
Vietnam War Medallion from the State of Missouri

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial

I am a graduate of Esther High School, Esther, Missouri. There were 53 people in my graduating class and about 300
in our entire school. I knew everyone in our graduating class, the entire school, and in some cases was related to them.

Out of those 53 students two were killed in Vietnam. I toured the Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial and found one of them,
Delbert Reese, the boy who sat next to me in Mrs. Simmons' English class.

He was very shy, at least around me. He had a great laugh and a brilliant smile. I remember him as always being happy.
We both belonged to the Scribblers Club, the club for writers, and had been in the school play together.

School in a small town during the sixties was very different than it is today. I remember Mrs. Simmons sent Delbert home
from school with a note to his parents. He wasn't to come back to school until he got a hair cut. He was sporting a Fonzy hairdo
and the twist hung down to his nose and covered his eyes. He went home, he got a buzz cut, he didn't object,
his parents didn't object, and he returned to school. Could that happen today?

I looked back through my yearbook and wondered, "Was I ever really that young?" And then I looked at Delbert,
who will be that young forever. For his sacrifice he deserves so much more than this simple blog post, so I am very grateful
we have the Vietnam Memorial and that his name is there.

This is Delbert's yearbook photo and the activities listed for him:

Scribblers Club 2 yrs., Vice President 1 yr.
Science Club 2 yrs.
Paper Staff 1 yr.
Tennis 3 yrs.
Senior High Play 1 yr.
County Chorus 1 yr.

From the Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial website

Delbert Reese's name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

Delbert is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Leadington, MO

Grave marker for Delbert Reese

Flowers at the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C.
Delbert L. Reese's name can be seen in the fifth row above the flowers.

Photo from:

VIRTUAL VIETNAM MEMORIAL
ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, MISSOURI

Top photo from the Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial website

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