Charles Duel Ellington

Torpedoman's Mate Second Class Charles Duel Ellington was killed in action on August 9, 1942 when the U.S.S. Jarvis was sunk with all hands during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Solomon Islands during World War II.  He was 23 years old.

Charles Duel Ellington was born on October 10, 1922 in Vance County, North Carolina, the son of Charlie Horace Ellington and Elizabeth Boyd Ellington.  He attended Aycock Elementary School in Vance County and was employed in Salisbury, North Carolina when he volunteered for the U.S. Navy in 1940.

TM2C Charles Ellington served on the USS Jarvis, a destroyer.  The Jarvis was moored in the Navy yard at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attached on December 7, 1941.  Jarvis opened fire with 5-inch guns and machine guns and made preparations to get underway.  Her gunners claimed four aircraft destroyed as the first wave of Japanese bombers attacked Battleship Row with torpedoes and bombs.

The Jarvis was primarily engaged in convoying cruises from Hawaii to Australia until she was tasked to participate in the invasion of Guadalcanal.  The invasion force of 84 ships and 20,000 Marines steamed for Guadalcanal on July 31, 1942.  Protected from Japanese search planes by rain and heavy mist, the force arrived off the landing beaches at dawn on August 7.

Following naval and air bombardment of enemy defenses, the first amphibious operation of the war commenced at 0650.  Jarvis patrolled as part of the protective screen while Marines established a beachhead.  As landing operations progressed, the Allied forces expected the Japanese to strike at the transports with land-based aircraft.  However, during the two attacks that occurred that afternoon, the American ships sustained only minor damage and claimed to have destroyed 14 attacking aircraft.

When enemy torpedo bombers appeared around noon on August 8, they were met by heavy anti-aircraft fire.  Only 9 of the 26 planes penetrated the defensive fire, but they torpedoed Jarvis.  Although anti-aircraft fire destroyed the aircraft, its torpedo exploded against Jarvis’ starboard side near the forward fireroom, stopping her dead in the water and killing 14 crewmen.  Her crew jettisoned the port torpedoes and brought the fires under control.  The destroyer Dewy towed her to shallow anchorage of Lunga Point and after the attack, she crossed to Tulagi, where she transferred her seven wounded and conducted temporary repairs.

Despite a 50-foot gash in her side, Jarvis was considered seaworthy and departed Tulagi at midnight on August 9, 1942 and moved slowly westward between Savo Island and Cape Esperance.  The Japanese destroyer Yunagi briefly engaged her with gunfire and torpedoes, without effect.  Once discovered, the badly damaged destroyer was no match for bombers raking the ship with bullets and torpedoes.  According to Japanese records, Jarvis “split and sank” at 1300 on August 9, 1942.  None of her 233 remaining crew, including TM2C Ellington, survived.

Torpedoman’s Mate Second Class Charles Duel Ellington’s name is inscribed on the Navy Tablets of the Missing  in the Manila-American Cemetery and Memorial,  Manila, Philippines. 

Last edited: 26 May 2026