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<p><em>Mark Laurence Reese Jr.</em>, the only child of Manila Bay and Mark Laurence Reese Sr., was born in Kansas City, MO. He grew up with the nickname Larry to distinguish him from his father, and it wasn’t until his time at West Point that he began to use his given name, Mark. As a child, Mark was an excellent student and participated in many extracurricular activities, including playing violin in the school orchestra, singing in the glee club and the church choir, and serving as the editor of his high school newspaper at Southeast High School. Graduating at age 16, Mark went on to study at Kansas City Junior College; however, at the suggestion of his best friend, he paid a visit to their congressman, Leonard Irving, to see about attending West Point. Fortunately, Congressman Irving was in his office and put him in for an appointment. The next summer Mark headed to New York to begin his plebe year and path to an illustrious career in the Army.</p>
<p>As a cadet, Mark enjoyed singing in the Glee Club and the Chapel Choir, studied Russian, and developed lifelong friendships. Upon graduation, his first assignment was with the 10th Infantry Division before being transferred to the 6th Infantry Regiment in Berlin, Germany. It was the time of the Hungarian Uprising, a nationwide revolt against the government and its Soviet-imposed policies, which caused considerable tension in Berlin. Soon after arriving, he met the love of his life, Barbara “Bärbel” Schwinski, a German model. Barbara had many other suitors, and Mark pursued her for two years before she finally accepted his proposal right before he was due to ship out to Fort Benning, GA. </p>
<p>The southern state of Georgia is quite different from Berlin, but, fortunately for Barbara, there were several military wives who also met their husbands in Germany stationed at Fort Benning. Their children played together, and they all watched out for each other when the husbands were traveling. Mark and Barbara’s first three children (Michael, Marina, and Leslie) were born in quick succession at Fort Benning. While Barbara was pregnant with their first child, Mark was in a jeep with several members of his staff driving across base when they were rearended by a drunk driver. Tragically, his staff sergeant was killed and Mark was thrown from the jeep, breaking his hip and several vertebrae, which took him several months to recover from. In 1963, Mark was assigned to his first tour in Vietnam. However, the injuries he sustained from the accident impaired his ability to lead troops through the dense jungle, necessitating his admission to Walter Reed Hospital for extensive physical therapy to avoid spinal surgery. Fortunately, the physical therapy was successful, and he was assigned to Korea, where he led the photo interpretation section responsible for analyzing U-2 photos of Manchuria and North Korea. Mark’s next stop was professor of military science (ROTC) at the University of Texas in Arlington, where the last Reese child, Douglas, was born. Mark completed another tour in Vietnam, this time as battalion commander of the 27th Infantry Regiment (“Wolfhounds”), which he called the highlight of his career. </p>
<p>Several tours in Germany—including Heidelberg, Berlin and Kaiserslautern (known to all stationed there as “K-Town”)—allowed Barbara to be close to her family. Mark finished up his career at Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command in Alexandria, VA, retiring as a colonel in July 1984. During his career he earned a Silver Star, two Legion of Merits, Joint Services Commendation Medal, and various other service medals. </p>
<p>Upon retiring, Mark became a realtor, helping military personnel like himself find homes when stationed among the various military outposts in the Northern Virginia area. He and Barbara continued their antiquing, a hobby picked up while stationed in Germany, in addition to gardening and traveling around the U.S. and Europe. Although he always knew he was adopted, he did not know until the death of his mother that she had corresponded throughout his life with his birth mother and shared stories and pictures with her. Penning a letter to inform Margaret of his mother’s passing initiated a writing relationship between the two of them. Within a year, Margaret traveled to Virginia to meet Mark, and the Reeses traveled several times to see Margaret in her home state of Colorado.</p>
<p>Mark will always be remembered for his positive spirit, honesty, integrity, and pride in a job well done. His unwavering love and dedication to his family were paramount. He was always there for them, no matter if the request was big or small. Mark thoroughly enjoyed watching his 10 grandchildren grow up and hearing about their successes as they navigated through life. He took pleasure in history, classical music, good food and good friends and kept up lifelong correspondence with his West Point classmates, meeting those in the Washington, DC area often for lunch. Mark passed on September 4, 2024 surrounded by his loved ones. Although we will miss him, we know our father had a life well lived. Be Thou at Peace.</p>
<p><em>— His loving Daughter, Leslie S. Deniken</em></p>
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