Ellis Island
During and immediately following World War II, Ellis Island was used to hold German merchant mariners and "enemy aliens"—Axis nationals detained for fear of spying, sabotage, and other fifth column activity. In December 1941, Ellis Island held 279 Japanese, 248 Germans, and 81 Italians removed from the East Coast. Unlike other wartime immigration detention stations, Ellis Island was designated as a permanent holding facility and was used to hold foreign nationals throughout the war. A total of 7,000 Germans, Italians and Japanese would be ultimately detained at Ellis Island. It was also a processing center for returning sick or wounded U.S. soldiers, and a Coast Guard training base. Ellis Island still managed to process tens of thousands of immigrants per year during this time, but many fewer than the hundreds of thousands per year who arrived before the war. After the war, immigration rapidly returned to earlier levels.
James O. Ellis
His sea duty billets as a Navy fighter pilot included tours with Fighter Squadron 92 aboard USS Constellation (CV-64) and Fighter Squadron 1 aboard USS Ranger (CV-61). Ellis was the first Commanding Officer of Strike/Fighter Squadron 131, deploying in 1985 with new F/A-18 Hornets aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43). He served as Executive Officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and as Commanding Officer of USS La Salle (AGF-3), the Persian Gulf flagship of the Commander, Joint Task Force, Middle East. In 1991 he assumed command of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and participated in Operation Desert Storm while deployed during her maiden voyage in the western Pacific and Persian Gulf. In June 1995, Ellis assumed command of Carrier Group Five/Battle Force Seventh Fleet, breaking his flag aboard USS Independence (CV-62), forward deployed to the Western Pacific and homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. As Carrier Battle Group Commander he led contingency response operations to both the Persian Gulf and Taiwan Straits.