Edward Reilly was born on January 16, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on May 14, 1960, and went on active duty beginning November 28, 1960, completing basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in January 1961. After completing Advanced Individual Training as a Tank Loader and Driver, he was assigned to Company C, 3rd Medium Tank Battalion of the 40th Armored Division from April 1961 to August 1962, followed by service with Troop B, 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron of the 15th Cavalry Regiment in West Germany from August 1962 to June 1963. Reilly next served with the 35th Armored Regiment in West Germany from June to September 1963, followed by service with 2nd Squadron of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, also in West Germany, from September 1963 to June 1965. SP4 Reilly served as a Tank Driver and later as a Chaplain's Assistant with Company C, 4th Battalion of the 37th Armored Regiment at Fort Knox from June 1965 to March 1966, and then transferred to the Infantry, where he served as a Grenadier with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division in South Vietnam from April 15, 1966, until he was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War on April 26, 1966. Nobody knows how long SP4 Reilly was held as a POW, and he was administratively declared dead by the U.S. Army on December 6, 1973, having been promoted to the rank of Sergeant First Class during the time he was missing. His remains were returned to the U.S. on April 27, 1989, and he was buried at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.