During the war, Knipling's research was diverted to support U.S. Army efforts to repel and control insects that threatened Allied troops with diseases including typhus and malaria. Credited with leading the USDA team that developed DDT as an effective control of body lice and weapon against typhus, Knipling won the 1947 U.S. Medal of Merit and the 1948 King's Medal for Service from the United Kingdom for these achievements.[1]