Ellis, Earl H.

Ellis, Earl H. (“Pete”)

(1880–1923) marine officer; born in Iuka, Kans. The eccentric, hard-drinking son of teetotaling parents, he enlisted in 1900, received a commission the following year, and became a leading proponent of Marine Corps amphibious doctrine. Ellis died in suspicious circumstances on the island of Koror in May 1923 while secretly surveying Japanese fortifications in Micronesia.