Rear Admiral Robert Ellis died July 15, 1984. He graduated from the USNA. In World War II, he commanded a squadron of destroyers. One of his ships, the USS Reuben James was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of the U.S. before the U.S. entered World War II. He also commanded the destroyer USS Schenck (DD-159) while a lieutenant-commander from 1941 to May 26, 1942.
He served in the Navy for 33 years and during that time was chief of staff for the US Navy Sixth Fleet in 1952 and the US North Atlantic and Mediterranean Command in 1954.
He was in command of the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during Castro's insurgency. A newspaper article mentions him in regards to 30 U.S. servicemen and 4 civilians who were being held captive by Castro in 1958.
The Wilmington (NC) Star-News ran an obituary for him July 17, 1984 and said he retired from the Navy in 1959 and spent six years as superintendent of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial.
He moved to Griffin, Georgia, in 1976 and lived there until his death and was buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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