His father was Angelo Noce, who founded the first Italian newspaper in Colorado (La Stella) and led the push for the Columbus Day holiday.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in April 1917, and dropped his first name of Angelo shortly thereafter.

From 1937 to 1939 he was District Engineer in Memphis, Tennessee, supervising Mississippi River levee and dam maintenance and flood control.

From 1940 to 1941 he was District Engineer in Los Angeles, California, overseeing harbor expansion and defense in anticipation of World War II.

In this assignment he developed organizations, equipment, and techniques used in the D-Day invasion and the Allied offensive in the Pacific Islands.

In 1946 Noce he was appointed Director of the War Department's Civil Affairs Division, serving until 1948 and receiving promotion to lieutenant general.

Upon his retirement in 1955, Lt. General Daniel Noce purchased a 1200-acre farm near Sperryville, Virginia and produced award-winning yields of corn and prized Black Angus beef.

He served on the Rappahannock River Basin Advisory Committee, which advised state and local governments about water use and long term planning, including construction of the proposed Salem Church Dam.