The papers of Noel Francis Parrish (1909-1987) span the years 1894-1987, with the bulk of the papers concentrated in the period 1930-1987. The papers document Parrish's military service, his academic career as a student and professor of history, and his interests in writing and photography. The papers consist of twelve series: Family Papers, General Correspondence, Personal Correspondence, Tuskegee File, Military File, Academic File, Speeches and Writings File, Photographs and Slides, Miscellany, Classified, Restricted Data, and Oversize.

The Family Papers series is divided into two subseries, Correspondence and Other Papers. The Correspondence subseries consists primarily of letters and postcards written by family members to Parrish concerning family matters and local news. Also included are a few early letters of Parrish and his brother, Garland C. Parrish, describing training and life in the United States Army. The Other Papers subseries includes diaries and writings of Garland Parrish, recollections of Parrish's parents, Garland J. and Lucy L. Parrish, and genealogical papers pertaining to the family.

The General Correspondence series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence relating to Parrish's personal interests and activities. Much of the correspondence is between Parrish and his military friends and acquaintances and relates to the Vietnam War and Pentagon politics. Correspondence after 1964 relates chiefly to Parrish's academic career and his efforts to publish his writings. There is additional correspondence concerning these matters in the Academic File and Speeches and Writings File. Two items worthy of note in the General Correspondence series are a 1986 letter from Parrish to Adrian Bosch and Austin Hoyt describing Robert S. McNamara's efforts to drive Parrish out of the air force and a 1943 Zelda Fitzgerald letter to Parrish discussing the lost generation and her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Personal Correspondence series consists chiefly of Parrish's incoming correspondence. The majority of these papers pertain to Parrish's relationship with women friends and contain local news and gossip. In addition, there is correspondence in the 1940s from Pam A. ("Anne") McClellan, a women's army corps pilot, describing the training of women pilots.

The Tuskegee File documents Parrish's service as director of training of the Tuskegee Army Flying School and commander of the Tuskegee Army Air Field, Tuskegee, Alabama. In these assignments, Parrish was responsible for the military's first systematic effort to train black pilots for combat duty at a time when the armed forces were still segregated. This series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence and memoranda pertaining to the operation of the air field. There are also a few letters from black pilots in Europe describing battles and army life. Significant correspondents include Benjamin O. Davis (1880-1970), Benjamin O. Davis (1912-2002), Lena Horne, Langston Hughes, Frederick D. Patterson, and Roy Wilkins. Other papers in the series such as newspapers, pamphlets and publications, programs and invitations, clippings, photographs, and printed matter, provide a glimpse of daily life at the Tuskegee Air Field. Additional items worthy of note are intelligence summaries reporting incidents of racial violence in the South, statistical reports comparing the proficiency of white and black pilots, and army reports about blacks in the military training program.

The Military File consists chiefly of correspondence, memoranda, certificates, reports, lectures, and other educational materials pertaining to Parrish's classes at the Air Command Staff School and the Air War College, both located at Maxwell Field, Alabama. Also included is correspondence, memoranda, speeches, and reports relating to his duties at the Pentagon and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Paris.

The Academic File contains material relating primarily to Parrish's undergraduate and graduate years at Rice University, his teaching career as assistant professor of military history at Trinity University in Texas, and as a guest lecturer at the Air War College, Maxwell Field.

The Speeches and Writings File reflects not only Parrish's military and academic career but also his interest as a young man in becoming a writer. Several of his early articles were published in aviation magazines and the , a newspaper edited by his brother. This series also includes Parrish's uncompleted memoirs.

The Photographs and Slides series contains photographs, slides, negatives, and scrapbooks documenting Parrish's personal life and military career. Many of the photographs and slides were taken by Parrish, including a number of aerial overviews and scenic shots of various locations in the United States and Mexico. Also included are numerous photographs of airplanes from the 1930s and 1940s.

The Miscellany consists primarily of awards and certificates, notes and jottings, interviews, and printed matter.

Among the significant and frequent correspondents not mentioned previously are Bonner Fellers, Alfred Goldberg, Alfred M. Gruenther, John T. Hazard; F. D. ("Dave") Henderson, Richard H. Kohn, and Donald B. Robinson.