Rank and Name, Motor Machinist’s Mate First Class Claud Chesley Ellis.

Unit/Placed in, LST-612 (Tank Landing Ship).

Claud is born approx. 1920 in Georgia.

Mother, Belle Ellis.

Wife, Alma (Sims) Ellis.

Claud enlisted the service in Georgia with service number # 6377675.

Claud was KIA when during a landing the LST was hit by the Japanese aircraft on Dec. 27, 1944, he is honored with a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Expeditionary Medal, Distinguished Unit Citation, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.

Claud is buried/mentioned at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila, metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Walls of the missing.

Thanks to https://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160612.htm Jean Louis Vijgen, ABMC, https://abmc.gov

P.O.W. info, Wes Injerd and Dwight Rider, http://www.mansell.com/pow-index.html  Air-Force, Rolland Swank NavyLog, http://navylog.navymemorial.org Familysearch.com, https://www.familysearch.org

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society,http://www.philippine-scouts.org/

Marines Info Geoffrey Roecker, https://missingmarines.com/   

Medals Info, http://www.honorstates.org    

Hendriks Webdesign, https://hendrikswebdesign.nl/

LST-612

LST-612 was laid down on 18 December 1943 at Seneca, III., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 29 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Perry Arnold; and commissioned on 16 May 1944, Lt. John A. White in command.

During World War II, LST-612 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the following operations:

Leyte landing-October 1944

Mindoro landing-December 1944

Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto-April and June 1945

Following the war, LST-612 performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw China service until early May 1946. She was decommissioned on 1 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 3 July that same year. On 5 December 1947, the ship was sold to Bosey, Philippines.

LST-612 earned three battle stars for World War II service.