Staff Sergeant Mark J. Rielly was born on 8 January 1953 in Bremerton, Washington. SSG Rielly was a Founding Night Stalker and CH-47 Crew Chief assigned to Alpha Company, 159th Aviation Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The accident that claimed his life on a CH-47 Chinook, #845, occurred on 10 July 1983 on South Fox Island, Michigan, located at the northern tip of Lake Michigan. SSG Rielly and the crew were planning and developing new doctrine, tactics, and techniques that have made the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) what it is today.

SSG Rielly is survived by his wife, Cha Kum. He is laid to rest in Riverside, California, at Riverside National Cemetery, Section 3, Site 419.