Ellsberg returned the port to operation and the ships salvaged were added to the Allies' merchant fleets. During his work in Massawa, Ellsberg reported to the Lend Lease coordinator in Cairo, Egypt, US Army Major General Russell Maxwell. Ellsberg renamed the "SS Liebenfels", a large German freighter, salvaged and refitted at Massawa, the "General Russell Maxwell". He described the salvage of the port of Massawa in his book "Under the Red Sea Sun". Ellsberg was promoted to captain by presidential order on June 19, 1942. The next year he was awarded the Legion of Merit by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in honor of his salvage efforts in Massawa.