Remembering The Ladies Of The 6888th Central Postal Battalion: The Only All-Black Female Regiment Overseas During WWII

"No mail, no morale." – Major Charity May

Since before this country was an actual country, starting with the Pony Express, the USPS has been one of the most reliable, respected, and dependable institutions throughout history. Throughout multiple world wars and the depression, we could always rely on the postal service to keep us connected – but all that changed when Louis DeJoy was installed as Postmaster General by former President Donald Trump.

Cutting post office hours, deleting overtime for postal workers, forbidding late deliveries, removing mailboxes on the street, and destroying mail sorting machines, it was evident that DeJoy had one job and one job only – to delay the mail. This was all a part of Trump’s plan to interrupt, delay, and hinder mail-in voting in an attempt to steal the 2020 election.

But it didn’t just affect mail-in voting. Delayed delivery of much-needed medications, important bills not arriving until after they are due. Christmas cards and packages are still lost. We went from an efficient service with an on-time rate of over 95%, to one hovering at just over 30%.

The mail is how we stay connected to each other and the world. Sure, there’s email and social media, but there’s something special about getting a handwritten letter from a loved one, or a card to commemorate a special holiday, occasion, or event.

I know how important it is. Early in her military career, my mother was stationed in Germany. It was here that she would be promoted to COPE (Custodian of Postal Effects). As COPE, she was in charge of post office finances, equipment, and personnel.

The entire APO system was dependent on her and her employees. Checking equipment to make sure it was working properly and efficiently, and training those under her to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and their families relied on packages and letters from home. Conducting once-a-month inspections for accountability. I would spend my summer breaks working in the mail room, sorting. I was always impressed and fascinated by how organized our postal system was.

After leaving Germany, my mother was again deployed. This time to the peninsula. S. Korea. She received another promotion and was supervisor over the COPE. Responsible for day-to-day postal operations, and all incoming and outgoing mail going through the peninsula headed to our servicemen and women stationed throughout the country.

Almost 40 years before my mother would be in charge of the mail, that task was given to a special battalion, the 6888^th. Or the Six Triple Eight as they were also called. Under the charge of Major Charity May, one of only two African American female officers during WWII, they would be the only all-black female battalion to serve overseas during the war. Major May was also in charge of the 404^th, an all-black female Army band that helped raise money for the war effort. But it’s the 6888^th who traveled to Europe to help with a backlog of mail going back almost two years.

Women of the 6888^th were from all walks of life. From college students to dropouts and housekeepers joined the regiment. They all had one thing in common- they wanted to be soldiers. And now they had their chance. With an intensifying war and thousands dead there simply wasn’t the time, resources, or morale to deal with the backlogs in various cities across the Allied nations.

Before they would be deployed, the women of the 6888^th went through rigorous training. They would march with heavy rucksacks, climb ropes, climb under logs, and learn to identify enemy ships and weapons. Denied the use of guns, and without access to the services their white men and women counterparts received, the women were entirely self-sufficient. Even learning judo and other martial arts to protect themselves and their posts from intruders.

The first stop for the Central Postal Battalion would be Birmingham, England where a warehouse filled with undelivered letters and packages would be waiting. The ladies finished a six-month job in just three. But not without its challenges. Some of the mail was only addressed to a nickname, or the name ‘Junior’. Over 7500 pieces were simply addressed to ‘John Smith’. But they got it done and were soon shipped across the channel to France. They would experience treatment by the French that was a complete change from what they were subjected to at home in the United States, and Britain. In France, they would work with German POWs and French Civilians. Were housed in luxury hotels from Rouen to Paris and enjoyed leisure activities like tennis.

All in all, over 17M pieces of mail and packages would be delivered to Allied Military personnel around Europe. And then the war was over. The women of the Six Triple Eight would return to American soil without recognition or fanfare. American citizens none the wiser that they were sitting next to a hero. One who made sure that their loved ones fighting overseas got the boost they needed from home with the delivery of their mail.

They would eventually receive recognition, both here and abroad. The 6888^th were awarded the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. In 2009, then President Obama, they were honored at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington.

2016 would see them inducted into the US Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame, and in 2018 a monument would be dedicated to them at Ft. Leavenworth.

Over 6500 Black women would serve in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp (later the Women’s Army Corp giving women full rank and status) during the war. Proving that bravery, courage, and patriotism isn’t bound to race, sex, or background. The women of the 6888^th are true American heroes. They took their oath to heart, and never gave up. They knew how important their role was in inspiring and motivating the troops by delivering the mail. In the words of Major Charity Adams ‘no mail, no morale.’