After graduating from the Naval Academy in the Class of 1943, Commander Cornelius served in destroyers in the Atlantic. In December, 1944, he graduated from Submarine School, qualifying for his dolphins in February, 1946. He was designated a naval aviator in 1947 and is also a graduate of the Russian Language School. He became a Motion Picture Supervisor at the U. S. Naval Photographic Center, Anacostia, and subsequently was officer-in-charge of a Pacific Fleet photographic squadron detachment.