US Navy veteran of World Wars I, II and submarine qualified officer. During WW II he was a plank owner and Commanding Officer of the fast attack transport, USS Alpine (APA-92), which served in the Pacific Theater from 1944 until 1946, landing troops and munitions in the gritty and bloody island-hopping invasions from Guam to Okinawa. Reilly was known as a tough skipper and a stern taskmaster, putting the ship through endless combat, gunnery and fire-fighting drills early in her service, a tiring tedium that some of the crew scorned, but that probably saved the ship later in the Pacific.

Captain Reilly was awarded first the Bronze Star and later the Silver Star for commanding the ship during two separate Japanese "suicide plane" attacks, later known as "kamikazes". The first, during the Leyte Invasion on November 18, 1944 killed five (5) crewman and injured twelve (12) before the fires were put out. The second successful kamikaze attack happened on April 1, 1945, the first day of the Okinawa invasion, at 1908 hours when the transport had begun lowering her landing craft. Sixteen (16) crewman and troops were killed with nineteen (19) more injured. As the fires grew and touched off some of the ship's amunitions, spraying shrapnel on the decks, all but exhausted firefighting crews were ordered to abandon the ship, which was listing seven degrees to port.

The "R division" deck crew firefighters with assistance from a patrol craft that sprayed water into the gaping hole in the ship's hull, valiantly fought the terrible fires that threatened to touch off a cataclysmic explosion of the heavily laden munitions stores, before extinguishing the flames four hours later at 2300. In addition to the valor awards to Capt. Reilly, members of his crew were also decorated with the Bronze Star, Navy Commendation and Purple Heart. The ship received a Navy Unit Commendation for her WW II service and five (5) battle stars. Promoted to rear admiral after the war, Reilly retired in April 1954 after nearly 30 years service.