William Fishbein

Born in Brooklyn, NY on October 20, 1927 to an immigrant family of modest means, he attended New York City public schools and then the City College of New York, from which he received a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering degree, Magna Cum Laude, in 1948. He went on to earn a Masters degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University in 1955.

Following employment as an electrical engineer by the U.S. Navy at the New York Naval Shipyard, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during the Korean War. In 1952 he joined the Radar Research Group of the Evans Signal Laboratory at Fort Monmouth, NJ as a civilian employee, where he would work for the next 35 years.

He and his wife of 68 years, Marcia (nee Pomerantz), were married in 1953, and they moved from New York to Long Branch. They lived on the Jersey Shore for the next 66 years, mostly in Long Branch and more recently at Westlake in Jackson. Bill was an early and devoted member of Congregation B’nai Shalom in West End, serving in leadership positions including President of the Men’s Club.

Bill had an exceptional and distinguished career working for the U.S. Army developing revolutionary radar systems. He held 13 patents for a variety of radars, including the first handheld radar. (If you’ve ever gotten a speeding ticket or appreciated knowing the speed of a Roger Clemens fastball, you now know one of the people to thank!)

His most notable achievement was the development of the Firefinder radar system, which traces an artillery shell back to its source, pinpointing the location from which it was fired. Firefinder was first significantly deployed during the first Gulf War. U.S. Army artillery personnel were able to almost instantly eliminate any artillery that was fired at U.S. troops. After less than 30 minutes most of the enemy abandoned their artillery, and what had been feared would be a brutal artillery battle never materialized.

As a result, there has not been a significant artillery battle anywhere in the world since, and this has likely saved tens of thousands of lives. For his work on Firefinder the U.S. Field Artillery Association honored Bill, one of the only civilians ever to be given an award by that organization.

Bill also received the U.S. Army’s R&D Achievement Awards in 1963 and 1970, and in 2006 he received the Pioneer Award from the IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society, considered the highest award in electrical engineering research and development.

Bill achieved the role of Director of his laboratory, and retired as Chief Engineer of the Army’s EW/RSTA Center. He then went on to be a Principal Research Engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, where he continued his work on radar systems research and development. In 2008 Bill was enshrined on the Wall of Honor of the InfoAge Museum in Wall Township, which sits on the site of the former Evans Area of Fort Monmouth where he spent most of his career.

In retirement he and Marcia enjoyed their new home at Westlake and traveled extensively around the world, including taking many cruises. They loved to take small ships to unusual locations, and even were able to visit his cousins in Argentina.

While Bill was modest about his many professional achievements, he was most proud of his family and their accomplishments, including his sons Joel, of Jackson, NJ, Gilbert of Sudbury, MA and Daniel, of Cape Elizabeth, ME, his daughters-in-law Debra, Elizabeth and Ilene, and especially his five grandchildren, Jennifer, Rebecca, Alyssa, Philip and Matthew.

Arrangements are private, with a service in MA.

Donations in his memory may be made to Congregation Or Atid, Light of the Future Fund, P.O. Box 38, Wayland, MA 01778, or to Congregation Ahavat Olam, 106 Windeler Road, Howell, NJ 07731.