JOSEPH A. MURPHY, CAPT, USN (RET.)
Joseph Murphy '09
Lucky Bag
From the 1909 Lucky Bag:
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
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. He is listed on the killed in action panel in Memorial Hall.
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
Midshipman, California
January 1912
Ensign, Goldsborough
January 1913
Ensign, Denver
January 1914
Ensign, Paul Jones
January 1915
Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS Hopkins
Others at this command:
January 1916
Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS Hopkins
January 1917
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval training station, San Francisco
March 1918
Lieutenant, Naval Training Station, San Francisco, California
January 1919
Lieutenant Commander, USS Iowa
January 1920
Lieutenant Commander, staff, Squadron Force, Pacific Fleet
January 1921
Lieutenant Commander, USS New York
Others at this command:
January 1922
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
May 1923
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
July 1923
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
September 1923
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
November 1923
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
January 1924
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
March 1924
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
May 1924
Lieutenant Commander, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
July 1924
Lieutenant Commander, 16th Naval District
September 1924
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
November 1924
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
January 1925
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
March 1925
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
May 1925
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
July 1925
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
October 1925
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
January 1926
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, Destroyer Squadrons, USS Blackhawk
October 1926
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Melvin
January 1927
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Melvin
Others at this command:
April 1927
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Melvin
Others at this command:
October 1927
Lieutenant Commander, University of California, Berkeley
January 1928
Lieutenant Commander, University of California, Berkeley
April 1928
Lieutenant Commander, University of California, Berkeley
July 1928
Lieutenant Commander, University of California, Berkeley
October 1928
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
January 1929
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
April 1929
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
July 1929
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
October 1929
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
January 1930
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
April 1930
Commander, University of California, Berkeley
October 1930
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
January 1931
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
April 1931
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
July 1931
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
October 1931
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
January 1932
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
April 1932
Commander, executive officer, USS Altair
October 1932
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
Others at this command:
January 1933
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
Others at this command:
April 1933
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1933
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1933
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1934
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1934
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
October 1934
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
January 1935
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
April 1935
Commander, Naval Training Station, San Diego, California
October 1935
Commander, executive officer, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1936
Commander, executive officer, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1936
Commander, executive officer, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
July 1936
Commander, executive officer, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
January 1937
Commander, executive officer, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
April 1937
Commander, executive officer, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
September 1937
retired as CDR June 30, 1937
July 1938
Commander, retired, living in Carmel, California
January 1939
Commander, retired, living in Carmel, California
October 1939
Commander, retired, address "care of Braniff Airways, Dallas, Texas"
June 1940
Commander, retired, address "care of Braniff Airways, Dallas, Texas"
November 1940
Commander, retired, address "care of Braniff Airways, Dallas, Texas"
April 1941
Commander, retired on active list, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Class of 1909
Joseph is one of 10 members of the Class of 1909 on Virtual Memorial Hall.