The City of St. Robert is proud to recognize Ward 3 Alderman First Sergeant (Ret.) Walter W. Reese, who was recently named the 2026 Fort Leonard Wood Retiree of the Year.
The recognition honors a lifetime of service that began nearly six decades ago and has continued through military service, education, community involvement, and elected public service.
First Sergeant (Ret.) Reese entered the United States Army in April 1968 as an infantryman and served a combat tour in Vietnam with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. His service in Vietnam earned him the Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star Medal.
Throughout his Army career, Reese served around the world, including assignments in the Panama Canal Zone, Fort Campbell, Germany, the Republic of Korea, and Fort Leonard Wood. His assignments included service with the 518th Engineer Company, 326th Engineer Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and 84th Engineer Company, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment.
His professional military accomplishments included completing Jungle Warfare School, earning the Air Assault Badge, and completing the Rappel Master Course. In 1984, he returned to Fort Leonard Wood, where he served as a Drill Sergeant and later as a Drill Sergeant Instructor.
Following another assignment in the Republic of Korea, where he served as Engineer Plans NCO for the Combined Field Army at Camp Red Cloud, Reese returned to Fort Leonard Wood and served as a First Sergeant until retiring from the United States Army in 1992.
A Second Career of Service
Retirement from the Army did not end Reese’s commitment to serving others.
He began working with the Waynesville School District as a substitute teacher before leading a pilot program for at-risk students that eventually grew into the district’s Alternative School Program.
Reese also helped establish the Waynesville JROTC program during the 1994-95 school year. Over the following two decades, the program earned recognition as an Honor Unit with Distinction. In 2003, Reese received the Army’s National JROTC Instructor of the Year Award in recognition of his leadership and dedication.
After 22 years of service to the Waynesville School District, he retired in 2014.
His commitment to education extended to his own professional development. Reese earned a Bachelor of Arts in History/Government from Columbia College in 1994, a Master of Education from Drury University in 2000, and completed additional graduate study in Educational Administration at Lindenwood University. Columbia College recognized him with its Outstanding Graduate Award in 1996.
Continuing to Serve St. Robert
Today, First Sergeant (Ret.) Reese continues his lifetime of public service as an Alderman representing Ward 3 for the City of St. Robert.
His community involvement also includes lifetime membership in American Legion Post 331 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3176, as well as service through several civic and community organizations. He is an ordained deacon and serves at Central Iowa Chapel at Fort Leonard Wood.
From the battlefields of Vietnam, to developing Soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood, to educating generations of students, and now representing the residents of St. Robert, Walter Reese has spent much of his life in service to others.
The 2026 Fort Leonard Wood Retiree of the Year recognition is another chapter in that remarkable record of service.
On behalf of the Mayor, Board of Aldermen, City employees, and the entire City of St. Robert, we congratulate First Sergeant (Ret.) Walter W. Reese on this well-deserved honor and thank him for his continued service to our nation and our community.
Congratulations, Alderman Reese!