Dick Ellis is a native of Wilson, NC where he began his broadcasting career at age 15.  He was working at WITN-TV in Washington, NC as the youngest TV weatherman in the country and kid show clown when drafted into the Army in November 1966.  He served as TV Editor in the 18th Airborne/Ft. Bragg Headquarters following basic there until sent to Vietnam.  Arriving July 4th, 1967 with orders for AFVN-TV , Saigon.  Dick worked the all-night FM shift for a couple of weeks until getting kicked off the air for taking requests.  He was assigned to the TV side replacing John Steinbeck, IV [also of AFVN ].  Ellis wrote, produced and voiced for radio and TV.  He was anchor and creator of "Insight"an information  show once a week...and anchored "In Town Tonight" a Johnny Carson format interviewing vip's and movie stars visiting the troops. He later wrote, produced and co-anchored "Let's Speak Vietnamese" with Mi-Lon from Vietnam Radio.  Dick's main job was TV weather producer.  He prepared the weather set each evening for two "Bobbi" weather girls (Oberhanski and  Keith),and produced their shows in the 6PM news.  When a weather personality was unable to get to Hong Tap TU Street...Dick was on-the-air weatherman.  He also did weekend weather.  Ellis managed network weather by  traveling to each AFVN detachment that had a studio and helping develop a weather set.  He also called weather info and R&R info "up country" to each detachment every afternoon on the "side band short wave" owned by engineering.   Following Tet of 1968, Ellis was dispatched to the boonies regularly by Network Chief Producer Cal Lamartiniere, flying with Spookies,  FAC's, Dust-Off's, and one leaflet drop mission.  He also gathered news and interviews with the Vietnamese Navy, Marine Kit Carson Scouts, 25th Inf. Division and Green Berets in a Montanyard Village near Pleiku.  In July of 68, Ellis was hit in the leg by an AK-47 fragment while riding as a LOH helicopter door gunner with the 9th  Inf. Division near the delta town of Dong Tam. He was credited with 7 kills and 3 sunken Sampans during the day-long mission. Ellis was replaced in  September of 1968 by Tom Steinbeck, younger brother to John. He left AFVN-TV with the US Army rank Specialist 5 with an MOS of  71R-20 [radio television broadcaster].

Returning home to North Carolina, he worked as a newsman for WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina after being hired by veteran broadcasting executive Jesse Helms.  In 1973 he served in state government as Public Information Director for the Archives and History Department.  In 1975 he was appointed by the governor to serve as North Carolina's Bicentennial Director.  He has owned his own advertising company and served as Press Secretary for the NC Republican Party, numerous political campaigns and for a North Carolina Congressman in Washington.   In 1981 he was invited back to Washington by the Reagan administration to serve as a Presidential Appointee at the Department of Defense.  First, as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of  Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs and Logistics and later as Executive Director of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves. During the last two years of the Reagan tour he was asked by the White House to open the Office of Veteran's Affairs at the US Small Business Administration.

Ellis is currently Public Information Officer for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts and lives in Raleigh, NC. -- [updated August 29, 2003]