A well researched portrait of Ellis’s tragic life.
Few Marines have had more impact on the Corps's history than Pete
Ellis, and none have been more controversial. This biography of the brilliant
yet troubled Marine disputes many long-accepted but unsubstantiated accounts of
his life and death.
Lieutenant Colonel Earl Hancock "Pete" Ellis was a United States
Marine Corps Intelligence Officer, and author of Operations Plan 712: Advanced
Base Operations in Micronesia,
which became the basis for the American campaign of amphibious assault that
defeated the Japanese in World War II. Ellis' prophetic study helped establish
his reputation as one of the forefront of naval theorists and strategist of the
era in amphibious warfare, foreseeing the imminent attack from
Japan leading to the island-hopping
campaigns in Central Pacific. Earl Ellis became the Marine Corps' first spy
whose death under mysterious circumstances on the island of Palau became enclosed in controversy.
Numerous conspiracy theorists alleged that Ellis was assassinated by Japanese
military authorities; however, detractors of such theories note that Ellis was
known to have a severe drinking problem and likely died from an alcohol-related
illness.
Ellis’s legacy is fully examined by the authors, who searched through
family papers, fitness reports, Japanese sources, and interviewed eyewitnesses
to solve the mysteries of his tragic life.
