GENERAL RICHARD A. ELLIS, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, General Ellis,(then a colonel), received the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action on 5 April 1945. He was the lead pilot of a flight of three A-20 type planes en route to rendezvous with eighteen B-25’s for a strike on an enemy convoy comprising of one transport and five warships. A rendezvous was made with the fighter cover provided, but the B-25’s, unable to locate the convoy, did not appear. Though faced with heavy odds and lacking sufficient planes to keep the warships engaged, Colonel Ellis ordered the attack. Coming in through intense anti-aircraft fire, he flew directly over the leading warship, attacked the transport at minimum altitude, and sank it with two direct hits. During this action his two wingmen attacked and scored a near miss on a flanking vessel. In this flight, possibly the longest ever made by A-20 aircraft, Colonel Ellis accomplished his mission without losses. Through his gallant and intrepid actions in the face of grave danger, he personally sank a vessel carrying troops of the enemy. After his retirement he was appointed the U.S. Commissioner on the US-USSR Standing Consultative Commission and was accorded the rank of ambassador.

GEN. Ellis joined the L.O.V. in 1974.