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World War II Honoree

Civilian on the Home Front

Luis Walter Alvarez

Hometown

San Francisco, California

Honored By

John Peterson

Branch Seal
Activity During WWII

IN 1940 HE JOINED THE MIT RADIATION LABORATORY, WHERE HE CONTRIBUTED TO A NUMBER OF WWII RADAR PROJECTS, FROM EARLY IMPROVEMENTS TO IDENTIFICATION FRIEND OR FOE (IFF) RADAR BEACONS, TO A SYSTEM KNOWN AS VIXEN FOR PREVENTING ENEMY SUBMARINES FROM REALIZING THAT THEY HAD BEEN FOUND BY THE NEW AIRBORNE MICROWAVE RADARS, THE RADAR SYSTEM FOR WHICH HE IS BEST KNOWN AND WHICH HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN AVIATION.