Rear Admiral Halvorson was a member of the US Naval Academy class of 1942. He served throughout WWII in the heavy cruiser SALT LAKE CITY CA25. He received postgraduate training at the Naval Postgraduate School, at the California Institute of Technology, and at the Naval War College.

During his naval career he commanded the destroyer POWER DD-839, Destroyer Division 172, and the guided-missile cruiser TOPEKA CLG-8. Shore assignments included duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; the Join Staff, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; in the Bureau of Naval Weapons; and in the Naval Ordnance System Command, where he was Deputy Commander for Undersea Warfare Systems and Manager of the Mark 48 torpedo program. Admiral Halvorson's association with the Navy's advanced ship development programs began in 1972, when he became Coordinator for Surface Ship Acquisition in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

In that assignment he was responsible for overall planning and coordination of new ship programs which included the development of hydrofoils, air cushion craft and surface effect ship. During that period he served for two years as Chairman of the Joint US/German/Italian Steering Committee which supervised the development of the NATO hydrofoil patrol craft (PHM).

After retiring from active duty in 1974, he worked with Rohr Industries as Group Manager of Test and Evaluation for Rohr Marine Inc.'s 3,000-ton Surface Effect Ship Program.

Tidbits from Ship's Wake, 1943
SLC Deck Log Officer's List
SLC Deck Log Information, Feb. 5th, 1942
SLC Deck Log Information, Oct. 1942
SLC Deck Log Information, Nov. 1942
SLC Deck Log Information, Feb. 1943
SLC Deck Log Information, Mar. 1943