Corporal Ellis was a member of the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. "Pug" was seriously wounded by the enemy in North Korea on 23 January 1952 and returned to duty on 5 February 1952. On 13 June 1952, during an attack on "T-Bone Hill" in North Korea, he volunteered to recover a radio that was lost during the attack and was killed during the recovery.

Ellis was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.