Major Ernest J. Ambort, deceased, was born in Little Rock and served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Among his awards are the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star Medal for exceptional meritorious combat achievement, the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars. His record includes five airborne victories and three probable ground-to-air victories, as well as sinking enemy transport in Ormoc Bay.

In the book "By the Aces of the USA" by Tolliver and Constable, Ernest recounts his most memorable victory: downing a Japanese kamikaze attack on a destroyer evacuating wounded soldiers from the Philippines. Alongside his wingman, Lieutenant Hammett from Boston, MA, Major Ambort calculated that the P-38 aircraft was likely more valuable than any destroyer. However, considering the number of sick and injured personnel onboard, he chose to ram the enemy aircraft. Trusting in luck rather than skill, he held the triggers down fully, and when the black smoke cleared, he realized the Japanese plane had exploded just before their flight paths crossed. The sight of crutches, bandages, and casts waved by those rescued signaled that this had been his most thrilling aerial victory.