Nomination of Gen. Richard H. Ellis To Have the Rank of Ambassador While Serving as United States Commissioner for the. U.S.-U.S.S.R. Standing Consultative Commission

The President announced his intention to nominate Gen. Richard H. Ellis for the rank of Ambassador during the tenure of his service as United States Commissioner for the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Standing Consultative Commission, vice Robert W. Buchheim, resigned.

From 1950 until his retirement in August 1981, General Ellis served in a series of Air Force assignments, including executive to the Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, Command of the 9th Air Force, Commander Allied Air Forces, Southern Europe, Commander in Chief United States Air Forces in Europe, and culminating in Commander in Chief of the Strategic Air Command.

General Ellis entered active military duty in September 1941 as an aviation cadet at Maxwell Field, Ala., and received his commission and pilot wings at Turner Field, Ga., in April 1942. During World War II, then-Lieutenant Ellis served with the 3d Bombardment Group in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines, flying more than 200 combat missions, and rising to the rank of colonel and Deputy Chief of Staff, Far East Air Forces, by the end of the war.

After the war, General Ellis requested release from active duty, became a member of the Air Force Reserve, and entered Dickinson School of Law, where he was graduated in 1949. He was subsequently recalled to active duty in 1950, leaving behind his law practice in Wilmington, Del., to ultimately become Chief, Air Plans and Operations Section, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.

General Ellis' decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.

General Ellis graduated from Dickinson College (B.A., 1941) and from Dickinson School of Law (1949). He is married and has three children. He was born July 19, 1919.