JHL IV was drafted just after completing his master’s degree during the Korean War. He was sent to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey to conduct research on a new technology called a transistor. He was designing lab equipment to study the properties of silicon and germanium. Germanium, however, gave way to silicon as the “semiconductor of choice.” He spent a year and a half working on that project.

JHL IV also worked with Operation Paperclip scientists. This operation took Nazi scientists and sent them to various parts of the U.S., including Huntsville, Wright Patterson Air force Base, and Fort Monmouth. JHL IV said that they never discussed Germany, and instead focused on their work.

The small pictures are of JHL IV at MIT and during his time in the military at basic training. In the group photo of men in military uniform JHL IV is the one with a bandage on his head. He had received the injury during a football game.