The only black and all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II (WWII), widely known as the Six Triple Eight, will be presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on Tuesday, April 29.
The recognition comes after a long campaign was set up to appreciate the efforts of the unit in the previous century.
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was credited with fixing a growing mail crisis in its stint in England and served as a role model to generations of black women who joined the military upon its return.
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In three months, the unit managed to clear out a backlog of approximately 17 million pieces of mail, twice as fast as projected.
The only Black and all-female unit in Europe during WWII went on to serve in France before they returned home.
Just like many black units during World War II, its accomplishments never got the support or attention that its white counterparts were given, up until now.
At a ceremony set to happen at Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitor Center, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and others will hand over the medal to the family of the unit commander, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley.
Senior curator and director of curatorial affairs at the National WWII Museum, Kim Guise, stated that there are only two women currently alive from the 855 who served in the unit.
“That really shows how long this recognition took,” Guise said. “It is really important to recognize the accomplishments of these women and what they went through to serve their country in wartime.”
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), who co-sponsored legislation to award the medal to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, labelled it a long-overdue honor for the legendary only black and all-female unit.
“These heroes deserve their dues, and I am so glad their story is being told,” Moore said on Monday to the Associated Press.
“I am especially honored to ensure my constituent, Ms. Anna Mae Robertson, and the many others who served with her are recognized for their selfless service.”
In 2022, Congress voted 422-0 to bestow its highest honor on the only black all female WWII unit 6888th.
“It’s overwhelming,” retired Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, 104, who lives in Arizona, said to AP after the vote. “It’s something I never even thought about.”
McClendon joined the Air Force after the military was integrated and hung her boots in 1971.
She became the first female to command an all-male squadron with the Strategic Air Command.
In 1945, The 6888th was sent overseas when there was growing pressure from African-American organizations to include black women in what was called the Women’s Army Corps, and allow them to join their white counterparts overseas.
“They kept hollering about wanting us to go overseas, so I guess they found something for us to do overseas: take care of the mail,” McClendon said.
“And there was an awful lot of mail. … They expected we were gonna be there about two or three months trying to get it straightened out. Well, I think in about a month, in a month and a half, we had it all straightened out and going in the right direction.”
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion worked tirelessly around the clock, processing about 65,000 pieces of mail per shift.
They went on to develop an efficient system using locator cards with service members’ names and unit numbers to ensure delivery at the time was accurate.
Over time, the unit’s remarkable story gained recognition, and in 2018, a monument was erected at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in their honor.
In 2019, they then received the Meritorious Unit Commendation, before their legacy was further celebrated in the documentary The Six Triple Eight.
Last year, Tyler Perry directed a Netflix film about the unit, starring Kerry Washington, and that brought their story to a global audience after their remarkable work in the previous century.
