He graduated first in his high school class at Pratt, Kansas,[1] was interested in baseball and was an avid reader, especially enjoying Rudyard Kipling's stories and poems.

He arrived at the Washington Navy Yard days later to begin his initial entry training, which included instruction from experienced noncommissioned officers, some of whom were veterans of the American Civil War era.

By late February, Ellis sojourned to Singapore, China, and then to Yokohama, until the United States Secretary of the Navy ordered the Kentucky home to New York City.

In 1906 and 1907 Ellis was on temporary duty as a recruiting officer; he served in Oakland, California, during the summer of 1906, and Des Moines, Iowa from July 31, 1906, to April 19, 1907.

Barnett was slated to succeed Biddle as commandant, and selected Ellis for special assignment as a member of a Joint Army-Navy Board committee that studied the defenses of Guam and made recommendations for improvements at the outbreak of World War I.

[2] Upon arrival on Guam, Ellis was assigned as the committee's secretary and aide-de-camp, and assumed the duties of chief of police, registrar of the civil government, and Intelligence officer.

This action coincided with the beginning of US intervention on the side of the Allies in World War I, and Barnett persuaded Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to allow participation of the 5th Marines in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).

Ellis requested front line duty in France, but in May 1917 he was assigned to assist in the establishment of a new installation, Marine Corps Base Quantico.

As Adjutant, Fourth Brigade Marines, he displayed utter disregard of personal hardship and danger, energetic application and an unfailing devotion to the duties of his office.

43, W.D., 1918), Lieutenant Colonel Earl Hancock Ellis (MCSN: 0-260), United States Marine Corps, is cited by the Commanding General, SECOND Division, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him.

Lieutenant Colonel Ellis distinguished himself while serving with Headquarters, 4th Brigade, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I.

On August 3, 1919, Barnett instructed Ellis to report to Galveston, Texas, for an intelligence-gathering mission on behalf of the Office of Naval Intelligence, which was concerned that Germany might attempt to seize Mexico's oil fields.

He embarked on a troop transport ship Kittery from Charleston, South Carolina on April 20, 1919, and reported to Brigadier General Logan Feland on May 10.

[21] During this assignment, he prepared an essay regarding the details of military and civil operations required to eradicate subversion and insurgency, titled "Bush Brigades"'.

The Territory of Hawaii constituted the 'only' support for the United States Navy due to the lack of naval facilities in the US possessions of the Philippines and Guam.

Ellis advised war planners to minimize confusion and casualties by organizing task forces prior to leaving base ports, and to maintain unit integrity rather than dividing Marines up among several transports.

[26] On April 9, 1921, Ellis submitted a pro forma request to the commandant to conduct a clandestine reconnaissance mission to the Central Pacific to examine the Marshall and Caroline Islands.

[26] His request indicated that he expected to travel as a civilian and to provide an undated resignation that would enable the Marine Corps to deny knowledge of his actions if necessary.

After his discharge, he departed for Yokohama, Japan aboard SS President Jackson so he could arrange for a visa and travel authorization that would permit him to visit the mandated Caroline and the Marshall Islands.

[1] Ellis continued drinking heavily, which apparently caused him to disclose his mission to civilians, including the physicians who treated him when he was hospitalized again for neurasthenia on September 1, 1922.

Upon arrival aboard NBK Lines Kasuga Maru, he debarked at the Tanapag Harbor, and checked into a hotel in Garapan with the intention of scouting the Mariana Islands, which Japan was using as a central hub for their activities in Micronesia.

[29] As Ellis continued his intelligence gathering mission and heavy drinking, he attracted the attention of the Japanese authorities, who began to keep track of his movements and activities.

Upon arrival, he checked into a hotel in Koror, and again boarded the Matsuyama Maru, intending to travel to Truk; Ellis was unable to survey this island because Japanese authorities denied him passage, which was an indication that they remained suspicious of him.

After his recovery in January 1923, he continued to survey the Marshalls, Kwajalein, Ponape, Celebes, and New Guinea aboard the copra-collecting sailboat Caroline Maru.

Aware of Ellis's condition, the Japanese police had two bottles of whiskey delivered to him; he consumed them both, and died later the same day from the effects of excessive alcohol intake.

[30] Ellis' official medical records indicate that not long before his death, he was admitted to a naval hospital for treatment of delirium tremens and hallucinations.

[26] Zembsch became ill and suffered a nervous breakdown on the return voyage, and was admitted to a hospital in Yokohama, which was soon after buried by falling rubble in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.

[30] It is not clear how competently Ellis performed his map-making and analysis, given his demonstrated instability in the final months of his life and the fact that the Japanese had not yet begun fortifying Palau.

[34] Ellis had a Marine Corps-wide reputation for excellence in organizational, administrative, intelligence analysis, and strategic planning, as evidenced by the fact that successive Commandants, including Biddle, Barnett, and Lejeune, relied on Ellis for their most important activities, including covert information gathering, despite being aware that he consumed alcohol so excessively that he often required a doctor's care and extensive hospitalization before he could return to duty.

[26] Despite the loss of the maps and notes from his final intelligence gathering effort, Ellis' overall strategic view of the Pacific Ocean islands remained valid, especially in light of events at the start of US involvement in World War II.