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The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, recognized as the first and only all-female unit to serve overseas during World War II, is set to receive a Congressional Gold Medal. This honor comes 80 years after they achieved a remarkable logistical feat.
Commonly referred to as the Six Triple Eight, this predominantly Black unit was dispatched to Europe near the conflict’s conclusion to address a massive backlog of around 17 million undelivered mail items.
On their arrival in Birmingham, England, in February 1945, the soldiers were met with numerous warehouses filled with letters meant for approximately 7 million American troops and officials across Europe, many of whom had not received mail in months or even years.
One general predicted it would take the unit six months to sort and deliver the mail, according to the National Museum of the United States Army. Defying these expectations, the Six Triple Eight accomplished the task in just three months, despite facing challenging conditions.
Following their success in Birmingham and the war’s end in Europe, the battalion completed similar missions in Rouen and Paris. Although the members received several medals upon their return to the U.S. in 1946, they did not receive a formal welcome or public acknowledgment of their contributions.
The narrative surrounding the Six Triple Eight has gained traction in recent years, culminating in a 2019 Meritorious Unit Commendation, a feature film expected in 2024, and a prolonged advocacy campaign for congressional recognition.
In 2021, the Senate voted in favor of legislation to grant the Congressional Gold Medal, with the House approving it unanimously a year later. The measure was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022.
“It never crossed my mind that this would come to fruition,” remarked retired Major Fannie McClendon, one of the two surviving members of the unit, during the signing ceremony.
Because designing and producing the medal required time, the official ceremony in the Capitol was not scheduled until recently. Earlier this year, a letter from over a dozen senators urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to expedite the ceremony, emphasizing the urgency due to the advanced age of the remaining members.
“Today, only two members of the Six Triple Eight are known to be alive,” the senators noted, advocating for the timely recognition of these veterans.
In the lead-up to the ceremony, anticipation grew as supporters noted a concerning trend regarding the unit’s visibility online. Reports surfaced that a webpage dedicated to the Six Triple Eight had been removed amid the Department of Defense’s broader strategy to roll back diversity initiatives. Although the page was still accessible via search functions, it had lost its prominent place within the Arlington National Cemetery website.
The Department of Veterans Affairs indicates that 14 members of the unit are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, with an additional 32 interred in other national and state veteran cemeteries. Following inquiries from Representative Deborah Ross, D-N.C., the Department of Defense reinstated some of the removed content. Ross expressed her disappointment at the oversight, stating, “Erasing this extraordinary legacy is a serious disservice to their service.”
A Barrier-Breaking Battalion
Before World War II, Black women faced significant barriers to military service, sparking the establishment of what became known as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC).
While the WAC increased opportunities for women, racial segregation limited Black representation to just 10% of the corps. The complete integration of the U.S. Army didn’t occur until 1948.
Among the approximately 140,000 women who served in the WAC during the conflict, only about 6,500 were Black, as reported by the Department of Defense.
Activists and civil rights leaders, such as Mary McLeod Bethune, advocated for Black women in the WAC to be granted the opportunity to serve overseas. In light of growing pressure and an impending mail crisis, the War Department formed the 6888th in 1944.
“They kept hollering about wanting us to go overseas, so I guess they found something for us to do: Take care of the mail,” McClendon recounted.
The battalion was organized into five companies and led by Major Charity Adams, who became the highest-ranking Black officer in the Army during the war. While often described as an all-Black unit, it also included at least two members of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
After completing their training, the women traveled to Scotland, where they faced the immediate danger of a German rocket explosion upon arrival before proceeding to Birmingham to begin their crucial mission.
Tackling Mail Amid Sexism and Racism
Upon arriving, the battalion was met with dimly lit warehouses overflowing with undelivered mail, which included six airplane hangars full of returned holiday packages.
Their challenges included dealing with vermin consuming sweets meant for the troops, undelivered mail due to changing troop locations, and a tangled network of similar recipient names—reports indicated there were as many as 7,500 individuals named Robert Smith.
The unit adopted a rigorous schedule, working three shifts a day, seven days a week. They developed a system involving millions of locator cards to track and deliver the mail.
Major Adams estimated that the unit handled approximately 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, as noted in her 1989 memoir, One Woman’s Army: A Black Officer Remembers the WAC.
Alongside logistical hurdles, the women faced rampant sexism and racism. They were barred from local clubs for enlisted personnel, prompting Adams to lead a boycott against segregated alternatives offered to them. The women decided to establish their own social venues.
Some service members harbored misconceptions, erroneously believing that the women had been deployed as companions. Such stereotypes were swiftly corrected by the battalion members.
Additionally, when the unit sent players to represent them in a basketball matchup, they were initially invited but later uninvited upon the discovery of their race. A further tragedy struck when three women died in a Jeep accident, and the War Department did not cover their funeral costs, leading the remaining members to raise the funds themselves.
Legacy Beyond the War
Upon their arrival in France, the battalion garnered attention from other soldiers eager to engage with them, necessitating heightened security around their area.
Utilizing assistance from French locals and German POWs, the unit effectively reduced a similar size backlog of mail in five months. In October, the remaining members—about 300 had been discharged by then—were sent to Paris to continue their efforts.
The soldiers returned to the U.S. in February 1946, receiving several service medals, including the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. Their disbandment took place at Fort Dix, New Jersey, devoid of ceremonial recognition.
The National Museum of the United States Army emphasizes that although the Six Triple Eight did not receive grand parades or accolades, their achievements led to a recommendation for the continued integration of female soldiers of color in the military.
A Path to Recognition
In subsequent decades, both the Six Triple Eight and their descendants have increasingly been acknowledged for their pioneering service.
Some members returned to England in 1981 to be honored by Birmingham’s mayor, and Major Adams released her memoir in 1989, leading to recognition from significant institutions like the Smithsonian National Postal Museum a decade later. Additionally, a monument honoring the regiment was unveiled at Fort Leavenworth in 2018.
The battalion’s story has also been captured in literature and film, noted in a 2019 documentary and a forthcoming 2024 feature film, directed by Tyler Perry and featuring Kerry Washington portraying Major Adams.
In discussing the unit’s sacrifices, Washington remarked, “These women were fighting for a country that wasn’t always fighting for them, but they believed in the potential of democracy and their own capacity to drive change.”
Collaborating closely with veteran Lena King, who passed away at 100 years old in January 2024, the filmmakers sought to delve into the unit’s experiences and the stigma some felt in sharing their stories post-war.
One attendee of the recent ceremony discovered her late mother’s service with the battalion just a year ago, highlighting the ongoing uncovering of the unit’s legacy.
King had expressed her wish for more surviving members to witness the honor bestowed upon their unit, noting it would be a significant milestone.
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