Black female WWII unit, 'Six Triple Eight,' to receive congressional
honor
[April 29, 2025]
By FERNANDA FIGUEROA
The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II,
commonly known as the “Six Triple Eight,” will be presented Tuesday with
the Congressional Gold Medal, following a long-running campaign to
recognize their efforts.
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was credited with solving
a growing mail crisis during its stint in England and, upon their
return, serving as a role model to generations of Black women who joined
the military.
They cleared out a backlog of about 17 million pieces of mail in three
months, twice as fast as projected. The battalion would go on to serve
in France before returning home. And like many Black units during World
War II, their exploits never got the attention afforded their white
counterparts — until now.
At a ceremony scheduled to be held in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol
Visitor Center, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others will present the
medal to the family of the unit commander, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley.
Kim Guise, senior curator and director of curatorial affairs at the
National WWII Museum, said there are only two women living 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 war time.”
Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore, who co-sponsored legislation to award the
medal to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, called it a long
overdue honor for the women in the unit.
“These heroes deserve their dues; and I am so glad their story is being
told,” Moore, a Democrat, told The Associated Press on Monday. “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 6888th.
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World War II veteran Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, a member of the
World War II 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, poses for a
photo at her home on June 10, 2021, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt
York, File)
"It’s overwhelming,” retired Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, who
lives in Arizona, told the AP after the vote. “It’s something I
never even thought about it.”
McClendon joined the Air Force after the military was integrated and
retired in 1971. She was the first female to command an all-male
squadron with the Strategic Air Command.
The 6888th was sent overseas in 1945, a time 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 toiled around the clock, processing about 65,000 pieces
of mail in each of the three shifts. They created a system using
locator cards with a service member’s name and unit number to ensure
mail was delivered.
Over the years, the unit’s story started to gain wider recognition.
A monument was erected in 2018 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to honor
them, and the 6888th was given the Meritorious Unit Commendation in
2019. A documentary “The Six Triple Eight” was made about their
exploits. In 2024, Tyler Perry directed a movie for Netflix about
the unit, starring Kerry Washington.
___
Associated Press writer Michael Casey contributed to this report.
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