JOSEPH A. MURPHY, CAPT, USN (RET.)
Joseph Murphy '09
Lucky Bag
From the 1909 Lucky Bag:
Joseph Augustine Murphy
Boston, Massachusetts
"Spuds," "Mike"
A thoroughbred Irishman from the "ould sod," and is proud of it. Brought with him the original Boston twang and a large supply of Irish ditties. An athlete in a small way, being one of the mainstays on all the class teams, and showed his prowess Second Class year by winning the middle-weight boxing championship. One of the charter members of the Beef Trust, and has an eating capacity almost equal to that of an ostrich. Has a most fetching smile and could be a great fusser. However, has his own independent ideas concerning the fair sex, and is not of the opinion that "the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." Never lets his studies worry him in the least, and has seldom been known to bone. With his versatile conversation and happy disposition, "Spuds" is always welcomed in any crowd, and his winning smile is a sure cure for the blues.
Delights in his appropriate monogram:
"JAM."
Buzzard. Class Baseball. Class Football. Class Basketball. Middle-weight Boxing Champion (2).
Joseph Augustine Murphy
Boston, Massachusetts
"Spuds," "Mike"
A thoroughbred Irishman from the "ould sod," and is proud of it. Brought with him the original Boston twang and a large supply of Irish ditties. An athlete in a small way, being one of the mainstays on all the class teams, and showed his prowess Second Class year by winning the middle-weight boxing championship. One of the charter members of the Beef Trust, and has an eating capacity almost equal to that of an ostrich. Has a most fetching smile and could be a great fusser. However, has his own independent ideas concerning the fair sex, and is not of the opinion that "the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." Never lets his studies worry him in the least, and has seldom been known to bone. With his versatile conversation and happy disposition, "Spuds" is always welcomed in any crowd, and his winning smile is a sure cure for the blues.
Delights in his appropriate monogram:
"JAM."
Buzzard. Class Baseball. Class Football. Class Basketball. Middle-weight Boxing Champion (2).
Loss
Joseph was lost on February 28, 1942 when the Qantas flying boat he was aboard was shot down by a Japanese bomber over the Java Sea while en route from Java to Broome, Australia. He was a naval observer to the Netherlands East Indies, and was aboard with the Consul-General for the Netherlands in Malaya and several of his staff and their families.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
On June 20, 1902, Joseph won a Lawrence prize for second place in reading. He was in the middle class at the English high school on Montgomery street in Boston.
Per the San Francisco Call, August 22, 1912: Joseph's romance with Barbara Veazie “was started during the period of the Santa Cruz yacht races, when Miss Veazie was a guest of Mr. and Mrs. Commodore Picker on their yacht “Harpoon.” . . . She is a niece of Admiral F. M. Bostwick, former commander of the Mare island navy yard.” Admiral Bostwick graduated in the Naval Academy's Class of 1877.
When their engagement was announced in August 1912, Joseph was on the cruiser Denver bound for the Mexican coast.
Joseph and Barbara were married on May 10, 1913, in Sausalito. Their children were Patricia, born in October 1915; William, born in December 1918; and Barbara, born in 1920, all born in California. In 1920 and 1930, the family included Barbara's mother, Clara Veazie.
On the census done January 27, 1920, Joseph was on USS Melville in San Diego. He listed his home as 3 Quincy Terrace in Boston. In August 1926 he was on the President Lincoln sailing from Shanghai to San Francisco.
On June, 19, 1928, he was made a commander. He then was an instructor at the University of California at Berkeley until May 24, 1930.
His parents were Henry, a telegraph clerk, and Mary E. (Rowe) who was born in Ireland.
The Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1942 lists him as attaining the rank of Captain on August 17, 1928, of retiring on June 30, 1937, and of having 1 year, 7 months, 7 days of active service since retirement.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He was also survived by at least one son, Joseph, Jr. (previous link now defunct).
Joseph is listed on the killed in action panel in Memorial Hall.
Photographs
UCLA, 1929, with Chester Nimitz ('05)
UCLA, 1930
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Joseph Augustine Murphy, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Assistant to the Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery during World War I.
Service: Navy
Division: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Legion of Merit
From Hall of Valor:
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Captain Joseph Augustine Murphy, United States Navy, was awarded the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Naval Observer at Sandakan, British North Borneo, and the Netherlands East Indies, on 1 March 1942.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 356 (November 1946)
Service: Navy
Rank: Captain
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
January 1910
January 1912
January 1913
January 1914
January 1915
January 1916
January 1917
March 1918
January 1919
January 1920
January 1921
January 1922
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Memorial Hall Error
Joseph was on the retired list, but this is not reflected in Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
