WHIZ’s Military Salute honors Ellis Dean Kelly

1 hour ago

J.W. Dennison,

Jim Watson presenting Ellis Dean Kelley a flag as part of WHIZ's Military Salute.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – As we get closer and closer to Veterans Day, we’ll now take a moment to recognize WHIZ’s second Military Salute of 2026.

Ellis Dean Kelly is a 91-year-old Army veteran from Nashport. He was drafted into the Army and served his country in Korea.

“In 1958 I was drafted into service. Took my basic (training) at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then sometime later I shipped to Seattle to take ship to Korea,” Kelly said. “I’m real proud to be recognized and many more of them should be recognized.”

Kelly says he’s flown a flag in his front yard every day for 50 years after he built his house. Now he can fly a new flag, locally made by Annin Flagmakers in Coshocton, presented by Jim Watson, owner of The Barn.

“It’s a great honor for me to be able to present a flag to a veteran that served their country, especially like Ellis did here. Went over to Korea which was still kind of a hot zone at the time when he went over there,” Watson said. “My dad was there around the same time so this one really means a lot me to be able to present this flag to Ellis and just support our local veterans for the things that they did and the sacrifices they made.”

WHIZ’s Annual Military Salute lets participating businesses purchase a locally made flag and present it to a local veteran or family member in recognition of their service to our country. We here at WHIZ thank Ellis Dean Kelly for his service.