The papers of Mortimer M. Lawrence are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.
Papers (1917-1981) consists largely of the letters that Lawrence wrote home to his parents during his military service from enlistment through his return home. He wrote relatively long letters on a regular basis, thus this series contains a plethora of information about training to be an aerial observer in the World War I era and executing the task in the skies over France and Germany. Letters written from stateside training described military life, recreation, as well as the actual training. Lawrence also wrote often of his earnest desire to go overseas and participate in the war. An October 28 letter contained his feelings after his first flight at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Once overseas, his letters became slightly less frequent and his awareness of censors limited the amount of information he could share with his family. He wrote about the conditions in Europe, both among the people and the landscape. He wrote about his ground duties, which often involved scheduling pilots for flights. A November 11 letter described shooting down a German plane, which was regarded as the last German plane shot down in the war. His November 24 letter, written after censorship had been lifted, related his travels in Europe and the actions of his unit in the war. Other correspondence, written after Lawrence's death, relate to his widow's unsuccessful attempt to get him a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross and a military collector's attempt to get Lawrence's wing badge. There are also letters exchanged with John W. Stuart Gilchrist, author of a book about the 104th Aero Squadron. Also included in this series are military papers from his wartime service including General Order No. 5 (January 28, 1919) crediting Lawrence with shooting down an enemy plane on the afternoon of November 10, 1918. The officer's record book, AEF identification cards, and discharge certificates provide further details about his service. Several newspaper clippings about his World War I service, including his role in shooting down the last German plane, and several membership cards to veterans organizations can also be found in this series.
Photographs (1917-1919) contains the pages from a scrapbook of Lawrence's military service. Included in the pages are candid photographs from his stateside training as well as overseas service which often feature fellow soldiers and airmen but rarely Lawrence himself. Many aerial photographs of French and German landscapes, taken by Lawrence during the war, can also be found within the scrapbook. Other photographs include official Army shots of important people and events in World War I. The scrapbook pages hold a small amount of ephemera, such as unit rosters and copies of orders. The series also contains a copy print of Lawrence in uniform from 1918. A few items were removed from the scrapbook for preservation purposes; they are General Order No. 5 (box 2, Folder 14), a map (box Ov16, Folder 5), and a miscellaneous report (box 2, folder 9).
