This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Kent Weekly (SS/DSV) (DBF), EMCS
to remember
Eller, Ernest McNeill (Judge), RADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Marion, VA
Last Address Annapolis, MD
Date of Passing Jul 30, 1992
Location of Interment Salem Moravian Graveyard - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Ernest was the son of Edward Edward Eller and Elizabeth McNeill Eller. He attended NorthWilkesboroHigh School and NC State University, and entered the United StatesNavalAcademy in 1921. He graduated in 1925 and received his Master of Arts in Psychology from GeorgeWashingtonUniversity in 1934.
He served in World War II and Korea. He entered as an Ensign and retired with the rank of Rear Admiral. He served on the USS Utah, the USS Texas, the USS S-33, the USS Saratoga. He served on the staff of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC), as Assistant Gunnery and Anti-submarine Training Officer. He also taught classes at the NavalAcademy.
He was awarded the Legion of Merit, the American Defense Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal, the China Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. In 1937 he received the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement.
NAMESAKE - Ernest M. Eller house, East Carolina University
Date
Apr 17, 1991
Last Updated: Jan 3, 2009
Comments
Eller House Building History Other Names: Date Built: 1925 Date Razed: Cost of Construction: $ Gross Square Feet: 3,500 Assignable Square Feet: 2,721 Architects:
Namesake: This building was named after Ernest McNeil Eller of Annapolis Maryland.Rear Admiral Eller was born in Marion, Virginia in 1903. He was a 1921 graduate of North Carolina College.He received his Naval Officer's Commission from Annapolis in 1925 and the Masters Degree from George Washington University in 1934. He remained in the Navy being promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in 1954 and retired in 1970. Eller served during World War II as Assistant Naval Attache in London in 1940, aboard the USS Saratoga, USS Utah, USS Texas and the Submarine S-3. He served on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Command of the USS Clay. After World War II, the admiral attended the National War College and was assigned to the Staff Planning Section of Joint Staff, Joint Chiefs of Staff. [Jemison Beshears, Volume 6, Stem to Stern, 1990]
In his nomination letter addressed to the Board of Trustees, Carl Swanson stated:
Admiral Eller, a Naval Academy graduate and decorated veteran of World War II, is a well-known scholar of American maritime history.After a distinguished career at sea and in various naval command positions, Admiral Eller came out of retirement to become the Director of Naval History and Curator for the Department of the Navy at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, DC.Serving in this capacity from 1956 until his retirement in 1970, Admiral Eller launched several documentary series of great importance to maritime historians including, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, and the Civil War Naval Chronology. He is also the author and editor of numerous works concerning the history of the United States Navy. Additionally, Admiral Eller oversaw the establishment of the Naval Historical Display Center at the Washington Navy Yard in 1961.In 1967 as the recipient of the Alfred T. Mahan Award, Admiral Eller was "recognized as a distinguished author on Maritime subjects . . . (who) has endeavored with impressive determination to gain interest and involvement by competent writers in the broad mosaic of subjects relating to the total strength at sea." The building was dedicated on April 17, 1991 in honor of retired Admiral Eller of the U.S. Navy.He was a scholar of American maritime history and in 1990, he donated his entire personal library (over 2000 books) to ECU.Admiral Eller was also a generous patron to the ECU libraries and History Department and he is also the founder and donor to the Eller Fellowship in Naval History. Admiral Eller died on July 30, 1992 at the age of 89.
