Mr. Ellis served during World War II in the south Pacific where he participated in the long battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. He served on landing crafts which were used for transporting fully armed troops, light vehicles, and other equipment and supplies essential to amphibious operations. These boats made the Guadalcanal landing possible. He was critically wounded during one of the trips and spent the next year in naval hospitals before being honorably discharged in February, 1944.