In the US, February is designated as “Black History Month”, intended to highlight the stories of the many African-American people whose stories have often gone unheard. In honour of that, I’ve been looking into the story of the “Six Triple Eight”, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a non-white battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, made up of 855 women in total, commanded by Major Charity Adams and Captains Mary F. Kearney and Bernice G. Henderson, who were themselves African-Americans. Charity Adams (pictured right) was the highest-ranking Black woman in the US army by the end of the war. When the army proposed a white man to manage the battalion, due to lack of faith in their ability as a non-white unit to manage the job without supervision, she reportedly refused to countenance this (with the words “Sir, over my dead body, sir!”).
Though the group is often referred to as having been the only all-Black, all-female battalion to be sent overseas during World War II, that’s not quite true. There were also Puerto Rican women in the unit, and at least one Mexican woman. Nonetheless, white women were not a part of this unit, which was active from 1945 to 1946, and sent to the UK to manage a backlog of mail that was not being sent to the soldiers it was intended for. Their motto: “No Mail, Low Morale”.
By all accounts, the task they faced was monumental. The mail was unsorted and just lying around, with millions of items, including parcels containing food (some of which was apparently being nibbled on by rats). This was Britain during the Blitz, so the women were also working in shifts in the dimly-lit warehouses—and the warehouses were also freezing cold, prompting the women to wear long johns and extra layers of clothing. The packages and letters themselves presented a problem: addresses weren’t always clear, and there were often soldiers who had the same name, or mail addressed to men by their nicknames.
Nonetheless, the women got the job done. They created a card index of soldiers’ details to help them in their task, an index which ultimately included around 7 million cards. There were three shifts of eight hours each day, and each shift cleared approximately 65,000 pieces of mail. They used clues in the letters and parcels to piece together to whom they should belong, updating the cards as they went. In the end, they completed their task in three months, rather than the projected six! They took their assignment seriously, and I’m sure their efforts made such a difference to soldiers who thanks to them finally got word from home. If postcards bring us joy now, imagine how much those letters and care packages meant to soldiers in World War II. The Six Triple Eight restored both mail and morale, and in record time too.
After the war, the group was disbanded. They ultimately received the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and finally, in 2022, the Congressional Gold Medal. As of 2022, six members of the battalion were still alive: Romay Davis, Cresencia Garcia, Fannie McClendon, Gladys E. Blount, Lena King, and Anna Mae Robertson.
Apparently, there’s going to be a Netflix film about it, so perhaps more people will learn about the Six Triple Eight soon—will you be planning on watching it? Did you know about this battalion’s story already?
52 comments so far
A very nice story! Thank you! I had not heard this story before.
Very interesting story! Thanks for broadening my knowledge of African-American history.
This is amazing story and one well worth hearing about. Thank you so much for highlighting it.
All these women and men contributed to the Victory.
Even if most of them refuse this qualification, they are nevertheless heroes by their involvement.
Thank you to all those who bring them to light.
There are so many who deserve to be recognized.
Never heard of the story before. I would like to read more about it.
Please look at wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6888th_Central_Postal_Directory_Battalion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_Adams_Earley
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_Adams_Earley
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/6888th_Central_Postal_Directory_Battalion
Proud postal worker here, absolutely LOVING this story! And how Charity Adams told the higher ups to get bent when they wanted to put their guy in charge 🥳! As with most postal endeavors, doing it management’s way takes twice as long!
Thank you for sharing their story. It's amazing that they took on this task and did it in half the time! Their work certainly made a difference in the service peoples lives and I'm glad they were recognized.
What a wonderful story. Looking forward to the movie
This is wonderful! I had not heard of these remarkable women before. You can bet I’ll watch the program about it, if it’s available on Netflix Canada too.
Awesome!! Thank you for this post!
I find that in general women are more efficient, careful, thorough and dedicated to a task. I applaud the person who thought to assign this monumental job to these dedicated women. I was a rural carrier and therefore understand the intricacies of sorting mail. Bravo 6 triple 8s!
Thank you for sharing this fascinating story!
I wonder what they returned to after their time with the 6888? I hope the Netflix docudrama tells us a bit about their post-battalion lives.
Great story. Thank`s for sharing with us.
Great story! Thanks for sharing
Thank you for your research. This is so interesting, and so important. ❤️
Great story. So interesting!
This is so cool! Thank you for sharing the story of these awesome Black women! Can't wait for the film.
One of my favorite stories from American history... makes me so proud!
I read the book "Sisters in Arms" by Kaia Alderson. It is a historical fiction about the Six Triple Eight unit during WWll. Great read!
Wonderful! Thank you (and Yes Thank you Navywave - "Sisters in Arms" by Kaia Alderson is a wonderful read! )
"If postcards bring us joy now, imagine how much those letters and care packages meant to soldiers in World War II." I'm so touched reading this history.
I knew about the importance of mail service during the war, but I didn't know this story. How related to us, Postcrossers, about what postcards can mean to an other person!
More and more the other stories about the Second World War are emerging like the all-Black pilots on their own airport in Italy, the role of Japanese Americans soldiers while their families were in US camps, how Native Americans used their own skills in battles, what females in Europe did to keep their countries going...Unfortunately most of those people are not alive anymore to been recognised in their contributions and receiving awards for their efforts...but, still, it is great to read these stories! I would definitely watch the film on Netflix. Thank you 😊
So cool, I will be waiting for the film!
Wow....
Didn't know about this ...
6888...
All women team.
Hats to these gritty women.
Eagerly waiting for the movie.
This was a wonderful share, I shared this blog at work too as we celebrate Black History Month!
A really great and interesting story. Another example of heroic deeds not only accomplished at the front.
It is sad that it often takes decades before the achievements of these people are recognized and only recognized when hardly anyone is still alive.
We all owe you a debt of gratitude, because it is you who have made it possible for us to live in peace and freedom today.
Thank you all
Amazing! Thank you for sharing this!
They deserve to be respected.
Absolutely; heartwarming. A nice story to reflect on as we celebrate Black History Month.
What a great story! I had not heard about these amazing women before. I will definitely keep an eye out for the Netflix movie.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this! I have great respect for these women and I‘m ashamed that they were ‚ignored‘ when they go back home. All awards came much too late, I‘m sorry.
This is a great story to read. Thanks for sharing.
Great story for us on Postcard crossing
This is so interesting. I had not heard of this Battalion before. It would make a good story. It is a shame that there is currently so many people dropping their Netflix subscriptions due to the new restrictions they are putting on subscribers accessing accounts from multiple locations. I hope it is released in other places in the near future so this fascinating story is heard.
Thanks for the great read @shanaqui
Wonderful Piece of History.
What a wonderful piece of history - will definately watch the movie version! thank you for bringing us this slice of the past.
I wish this unit could re-form and do some work for Australia Post
I never heard about this story. Thank you for sharing!
Nice story
Thanks for the story. Now the children send their drawings to the soldiers who protect us
If you are ever in Memphis, Tennessee area and want to learn more about black history in the United States (aka African American history), check out The National Civil Rights Museum.
I had never heard of this before and look forward to the Netflix film. Thank you!
Very interesting, so grateful for the work that went into creating this blog and sharing the spirit of the mail we all love!
Thank you for sharing this important historical story. These women were fabulous!
I didn’t know about it until recently. The film is being filmed in my hometown (Bradford, United Kingdom) currently though which is very exciting!
I think I read a historical fiction based on this last year. Now I need to go find out if I'm remembering right! I had never heard of this before reading the book. Thanks for sharing even more information about them.
Thank you for this excellent story 💙
Thanks for an amazing story. Can't wait to watch it Netflix.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for this post! Awesome story!
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