Ellis Byers served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a First Lieutenant in the 8th and 9th Air Force, 323nd Bombardment Group in World War II. A flight leader and pilot of a B-26 Marauder, he flew a mission over the Rhur River in western Germany on February 14, 1945. His craft was riddled by flak and, with the engine shot out, he held the plane until four of his crew bailed out, then went into a spin on fire. He was awarded a Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. He is buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery Neuville-en-Condroz, nine miles from Liege, Belgium.
