He registered for the WW II draft on 16 October 1940 when he was a student at Penn State. He was 5', 10 " tall; weighed 148 pounds; had brown hair and blue eyes and a 'light complexion'.

He entered the service on 08 July 1941 from Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. He enlisted as a Private; he had four years of college education, was single, without dependents and his civilian occupation was listed as: "Actors and actresses".

We have Lieutenant Dix listed on the 437th TCG Special Orders #195, dated 27 December 1943. These were the orders generated at Pope Field (Fort Bragg, NC) for the first phase of movement by air and by rail of the 437th personnel to their eventual overseas deployment.

The records we have indicate that Ernest participated as a Pilot or Co-pilot on five 437th TCG flights: Mission Elmira on 06 June 1944; Mission Galveston on 07 June 1944; the resupply and air evacuation Mission #07 in June of 1944; the resupply and air evacuation Mission #49 in August of 1944 and Operation VARSITY in March 1945.

Ernest was listed as a 1945 member of the 84th Squadron in Frank Guild's book, "Journey to the Far Shore"; he was separated from active duty on 12 December 1945.