First Lieutenant Reed was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. On 31 August 1951, while on a combat mission over Sariwon, Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire and its left wing tank came off and exploded.

Reed was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.