in World War II there was one all-Black, all-female Postal Directory Battalion, of the Women’s Army Corps, the 6888th. Respect.

It was a direct result of their success that President Harry S. Truman desegregated the military in 1948. 

As for the Six Triple Eight’s wartime logistical triumph, the 6888th, dispatched to Britain under the command of Col. Charity Adams in 1945, managed to clear a massive backlog in undelivered mail to soldiers in the European theater of operations.

With the slogan “no mail, low morale”, they were sent to sort the massive backlog of mail in the European theater. Reports indicate the women were confronted with warehouses stacked to the ceilings, Christmas packages, love letters, and in some cases, final correspondence between loved ones lost.

 Solving that severe morale issue and getting the letters and packages out was supposed to be an arduous task stretching six months at the least. 

 They did it in three.

“Only four women are buried at Normandy, and three are from the Six Triple Eight,” Cummings said during the ceremony, referring to the fact that the unit was subsequently sent to France as the war ended to clear another monumental postal logjam. They again completed it in record time.

It has taken decades for a widespread sharing of their story — indeed, Phyllis Wilson, president of the Military Women’s Memorial and a retired Army chief warrant officer, said she spent 37 years in the military and “never knew” of the 6888th’s heroics.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/06/16/black-women-6888-gold-medal/

https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2021/03/03/all-black-female-battalion-closer-to-congressional-gold-medal/

https://coolchicksfromhistory.tumblr.com/post/77755315051/frolicking-in-the-snow-at-camp-shanks-are-a-group