November 10, 1942
Board of Appeal
Selective Service System
Local Board No. 234
3406 West Washington Blvd., Rm. 5
Los Angeles, California
Gentlemen:
For several months we have been carrying on a problem of war research under contract between the California Institute of Technology and the Committee on Medical Research of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. The nature of this work is confidential, but I may say that it relates to the problem of blood transfusion. After the preliminary chemical work had been done, it became necessary for physiological work to be carried out, and recently arrangements were made to have this physiological work done at the University of Southern California under the direction of Professor Drury and Dr. Mehl. Mr. Eli Movitt, Order No. 2077, was employed to carry out this work, to which he is to devote half his time. We have had great difficulty in finding suitably trained men to carry on this war research, and for this reason I recommended classification of Mr. Movitt in Class II-A. I do not know of any other suitably trained man who is available to carry on this work, and I am appealing from the classification made by the Local Board, in order that we may have his assistance in the satisfactory completion of our war research problem. There is no man of suitable physiological training available at the California Institute of Technology, and I do not know of anyone else who can be hired in place of Mr. Movitt.
Respectfully yours,
Linus Pauling, Chairman
Division of Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
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