The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was an all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, whose main function was to ensure mail delivery to troops fighting in World War II and to boost morale. Nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” the battalion’s motto was “No Mail, No Morale.”
In 1944, Mary McLeod Bethune used her deep connection with Eleanor Roosevelt to create a role for Black women in the war. The military was still racially segregated at the time, and morale among the troops began to drop as they were missing thousands of pieces of correspondence from loved ones.
From February 1945 to March 1946, the Six Triple Eight helped clear a two-year backlog of mail using warehouses in England and France. Sorting mail wasn’t the only function of the battalion, as many of them were already members of the WAC and held various support roles. To date, it is the largest number of Black women to serve overseas in a military capacity.
In 2009, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama honored the battalion, and in November 2018 Fort Leavenworth honored the women as well.
PHOTO: Public Domain
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