The papers of Morton B. Murphy are organized into two series: Papers and Photographs
Papers (1942-2011) contains correspondence, documents relating to Murphy's military service, and VF-34 veterans reunions. The majority of the collection consists of a two way correspondence between Murphy and his wife, Alys, between 1943 until 1944. Murphy's early letters describe basic elements of Naval life including flight school, living conditions on base, recreation, and his relationship with Alys. During his wartime tour in the Pacific, his letters describe life on the ships USS Saratoga and USS Monterey and some brief war related activities. However, not much detail is given because of censorship, with parts of his letters physically cut out. His postwar letters from 1946 detail life onboard the USS Leyte, the countries he visits while on tour, and his longing to be home with his wife and newborn daughter. The response to these letters includes Alys writing about nursing school at the University of Iowa, mentioning coursework and working at a hospital. Alys also writes about her life without Murphy at home. She tells him about her setting up their home, friends' relationships, and her parents. The military papers consist of flight logs, diaries, rating books, and charts relate to Murphy's pilot training. Other military papers are varied and consist of military orders, promotion notices, commendations, and certificates from his days at flight school to his career in the Navy Reserve. Veteran group materials include correspondence with former comrades, information pertaining to reunions, and Christmas Greetings sent by former members of VF-34 squadron.
Photographs (1943-1990) focus primarily on Murphy's military service including images of training bases, comrades, his flight training class, military identification photos of Murphy, and aircrafts preparing for takeoff. The aerial photographs were taken between 1944 and 1945 and depict various locations in Japan including Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Tokyo. Photographs taken at a veterans reunion in 1990 depict models of airplanes that Murphy flew with the VF-34 squadron.
