Richard H. Ellis
Encyclopedia
General Richard Hastings Ellis (July 19, 1919 – March 28, 1989) was commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command
and director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base
, Nebraska. He was also director of the Joint Strategic Connectivity Staff.
, where he completed elementary and high school. He received his bachelor of arts degree in history from Dickinson College
, Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1941 and juris doctor degree from Dickinson School of Law
in 1949. He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Dickinson College in 1961; honorary doctor of laws degrees from Dickinson School of Law in 1974, from the University of Akron
in 1979, and from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, in May 1981.
Ellis entered active military duty in September 1941 as an aviation cadet at Maxwell Field
, Alabama. He received his commission and pilot wings at Turner Field
, Georgia, in April 1942.
During World War II
he served with the 3rd Bombardment Group in Australia
, New Guinea
and the Philippines
, and flew more than 200 combat missions in the Western Pacific area. He served as a pilot, commander of the 90th Bombardment Squadron
, group operations officer and, from September 1944, as group commander. In April 1945 General Ellis was assigned as deputy chief of staff, United States Far East Air Forces, in the Philippine Islands and Japan
.
He requested release from active duty, became a member of the Air Force Reserve and entered Dickinson School of Law in 1946. He graduated in 1949 and, after admission to the Delaware Bar, practiced law in Wilmington, Delaware
. He was recalled to active duty in October 1950 and assigned first to Headquarters Tactical Air Command
, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; then as deputy for operations, 49th Air Division
, Sculthorpe, England
; and later as chief, Air Plans and Operations Section, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
.
From January 1956 to May 1958, Ellis was deputy chief of staff, operations, Headquarters Nineteenth Air Force
, Foster Air Force Base
, Texas. He was then assigned to the Directorate of Plans, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., first as chief, Weapons Plans Branch, then as assistant director of plans for war plans, and later as assistant director of plans, joint matters.
In July 1961 Ellis become executive to the chief of staff, U.S. Air Force. From August 1963 to June 1965, he commanded the 315th Air Division, Tachikawa Air Base
, Japan. He returned to Washington, D.C., and served as deputy director, J-5 (Plans and Policy), with the Joint Staff. In August 1967 he returned to the Air Staff, this time as director of plans. He assumed command of 9th Air Force with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base
, South Carolina, in September 1969.
He was appointed vice commander in chief of U.S. Air Forces in Europe in September 1970. General Ellis become commander, 6th Allied Tactical Air Force, with headquarters at Izmir, Turkey, in April 1971; and commander of Allied Air Forces, Southern Europe, with headquarters at Naples, Italy, in June 1972. He assumed additional duty as commander, Sixteenth Air Force
, Torrejon Air Base
, Spain, in May 1973.
He served as Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, from November 1973 to August 1975. He was then appointed commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe
, and commander in chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe. He assumed command of SAC in August 1977.
Ellis was a command pilot and earned the Master Missile
and the Parachutist badge
s. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
with three oak leaf cluster
s, Silver Star
, Legion of Merit
with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross
, Air Medal
with four oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart
and Grand Officer of the Italian Republic. He was awarded the State of Delaware Distinguished Service Medal by Governor Walter W. Bacon
in 1946. In September 1980 he was presented the Air Force Association
's highest honor, the H.H. Arnold Award for significant contributions to national defense. As the recipient of this award he was also named as the association's National Aerospace Man of the Year. General Ellis received the Korean Order of National Security Merit, First Class (Tong Il Jang) on May 13, 1981, at the Korean Ministry of National Defense
in Seoul. This award, the highest honor given by the Republic of Korea to a foreign military leader, was presented to the general for his important contributions to national defense of the Republic of Korea.
He was promoted to General on November 1, 1973, with date of rank September 30, 1973. He retired from the Air Force August 1, 1981 and died March 28, 1989 at the age of 69.
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
and director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
, Nebraska. He was also director of the Joint Strategic Connectivity Staff.
Biography
Ellis was born in Laurel, DelawareLaurel, Delaware
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,668 people, 1,389 households, and 957 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,215.9 people per square mile . There were 1,561 housing units at an average density of 943.0 per square mile...
, where he completed elementary and high school. He received his bachelor of arts degree in history from Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
, Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1941 and juris doctor degree from Dickinson School of Law
Dickinson School of Law
Penn State University Dickinson School of Law is the law school of The Pennsylvania State University...
in 1949. He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Dickinson College in 1961; honorary doctor of laws degrees from Dickinson School of Law in 1974, from the University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
in 1979, and from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, in May 1981.
Ellis entered active military duty in September 1941 as an aviation cadet at Maxwell Field
Maxwell Field
Maxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...
, Alabama. He received his commission and pilot wings at Turner Field
Turner Air Force Base
Turner Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base whose site is located within the current city limits of Albany, Georgia. Following its closure as a USAF installation in the late 1960s, it was transferred to the U.S. Navy and renamed Naval Air Station Albany...
, Georgia, in April 1942.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served with the 3rd Bombardment Group in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and flew more than 200 combat missions in the Western Pacific area. He served as a pilot, commander of the 90th Bombardment Squadron
90th Fighter Squadron
The 90th Fighter Squadron is part of the 3d Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It operates the F-22 Raptor aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-Mission:...
, group operations officer and, from September 1944, as group commander. In April 1945 General Ellis was assigned as deputy chief of staff, United States Far East Air Forces, in the Philippine Islands and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
He requested release from active duty, became a member of the Air Force Reserve and entered Dickinson School of Law in 1946. He graduated in 1949 and, after admission to the Delaware Bar, practiced law in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. He was recalled to active duty in October 1950 and assigned first to Headquarters Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; then as deputy for operations, 49th Air Division
49th Air Division
The 49th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at RAF Sculthorpe, England. It was inactivated on 1 July 1956.-History:...
, Sculthorpe, England
RAF Sculthorpe
RAF Sculthorpe is a military training facility for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, situated about west of Fakenham in Norfolk, England...
; and later as chief, Air Plans and Operations Section, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
.
From January 1956 to May 1958, Ellis was deputy chief of staff, operations, Headquarters Nineteenth Air Force
Nineteenth Air Force
The Nineteenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base and belonging to the Air Education and Training Command...
, Foster Air Force Base
Foster Air Force Base
Foster Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located approximately east-northeast of Victoria, Texas. A flying training airfield during World War II, it was part of Tactical Air Command during the Cold War as a tactical fighter and command base.-History:Named in memory of Lt....
, Texas. He was then assigned to the Directorate of Plans, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., first as chief, Weapons Plans Branch, then as assistant director of plans for war plans, and later as assistant director of plans, joint matters.
In July 1961 Ellis become executive to the chief of staff, U.S. Air Force. From August 1963 to June 1965, he commanded the 315th Air Division, Tachikawa Air Base
Tachikawa Airfield
is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service.-Operations:...
, Japan. He returned to Washington, D.C., and served as deputy director, J-5 (Plans and Policy), with the Joint Staff. In August 1967 he returned to the Air Staff, this time as director of plans. He assumed command of 9th Air Force with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base
Shaw Air Force Base
Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina. It is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command...
, South Carolina, in September 1969.
He was appointed vice commander in chief of U.S. Air Forces in Europe in September 1970. General Ellis become commander, 6th Allied Tactical Air Force, with headquarters at Izmir, Turkey, in April 1971; and commander of Allied Air Forces, Southern Europe, with headquarters at Naples, Italy, in June 1972. He assumed additional duty as commander, Sixteenth Air Force
Sixteenth Air Force
The 16th Air Expeditionary Task Force is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe...
, Torrejon Air Base
Torrejon Air Base
Madrid-Torrejón Airport is a commercial airport in Spain. It is a joint-use facility between the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Works. The civil part is dedicated primarily to executive and private aviation. The airport is located northeast of Madrid, west of Alcalá de...
, Spain, in May 1973.
He served as Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, from November 1973 to August 1975. He was then appointed commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the headquarters for NATO air forces in Central Europe from 1951 to 1967 and from 1974 to 1993.-History:It was first based at Fontainebleau , and originally activated in April 1951...
, and commander in chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe. He assumed command of SAC in August 1977.
Ellis was a command pilot and earned the Master Missile
Missile Badge
The Missile Badge is a military decoration of the United States Air Force which was first created in the 1960s. The badge recognizes those commissioned officers and enlisted personnel of the US Air Force who have qualified as missile personnel that have been trained in the launching of landbased...
and the Parachutist badge
Parachutist Badge (United States)
The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Snow Cone", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy...
s. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6, 1960. The medal was intended as a new decoration of the United States Air Force to replace the policy of awarding the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Air Force personnel.The Air Force...
with three oak leaf cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
s, Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
, Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
, Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with four oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and Grand Officer of the Italian Republic. He was awarded the State of Delaware Distinguished Service Medal by Governor Walter W. Bacon
Walter W. Bacon
Walter Wolfkiel Bacon was an American accountant and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served three terms as Mayor of Wilmington and two terms as Governor of Delaware...
in 1946. In September 1980 he was presented the Air Force Association
Air Force Association
The Air Force Association is an independent, 501 non-profit, civilian education organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia...
's highest honor, the H.H. Arnold Award for significant contributions to national defense. As the recipient of this award he was also named as the association's National Aerospace Man of the Year. General Ellis received the Korean Order of National Security Merit, First Class (Tong Il Jang) on May 13, 1981, at the Korean Ministry of National Defense
Ministry of National Defense (South Korea)
The Ministry of National Defense is a department within the government of South Korea and responsible for the military branches of South Korea.For more information on the branches see Military of South Korea or* Republic of Korea Army...
in Seoul. This award, the highest honor given by the Republic of Korea to a foreign military leader, was presented to the general for his important contributions to national defense of the Republic of Korea.
He was promoted to General on November 1, 1973, with date of rank September 30, 1973. He retired from the Air Force August 1, 1981 and died March 28, 1989 at the age of 69.