Vincent J. Reese was born on January 13, 1908, in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. He served in the 360th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and waist gunner of B-17 #42-39795 "Woman's Home Companion" during World War II.

On December 30, 1943, his plane crash-landed at Cerfontaine, Belgium, in a field near the Luxembourg-French-Belgian border, after evading capture Sgt. Reese joined and fought with the underground, destroying German installations. Sgt. Reese along with seven other US airmen, were kept hidden by Belgium resistance fighters while waiting for the chance to escape back to England. They were captured after a betrayal by local collaborators and were taken to a wooded area where they were executed on April 22, 1944, and buried in a mass grave. Sgt. Reese is now buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Source of information: www.americanairmuseum.com