Reed Chambers was born on August 18, 1894, in Onaga, Kansas, and grew up in Tennessee. He enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard in 1914 and served on Mexican Border Service in 1916, enlisting in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps for flight training on April 16, 1917. After completing flight training, Lt Chambers was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron of the 1st Pursuit Group at Toul Aerodrome, France, in March 1918. He was credited with the destruction of 7 enemy aircraft in aerial combat, all while flying the SPAD XIII, before returning to the U.S. in November 1918. Maj Chambers left active duty in 1920, and formed Florida Airways with Eddie Rickenbacker in the 1920s. He later founded the U.S. Air Insurance Company. Reed Chambers died on January 16, 1972.

His 4th Distinguished Service Cross Citation reads:

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Reed McKinley Chambers, Captain (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near the Bois-de-la Cote-Lemonte, France, October 21, 1918. While on a voluntary patrol, Captain Chambers encountered five enemy planes (Fokker type), harassing our Infantry at an altitude of 300 meters. Attacking them without hesitation, he shot down two of them and drove off the others.