UNSUNG HEROES: THE WOMEN OF THE 6888th CENTRAL POSTAL DIRECTORY BATTALION

by Leslie Parsons

Photo courtesy of the National Archives

“No mail, low morale.”  That was the motto of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black unit of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) to serve overseas in World War II.

By early 1945, the U.S. Army had a problem. Approximately 7 million soldiers and government workers were operating in the European theater, but they did not all get their mail. Staff shortages meant that letters and packages were sitting in warehouses in Great Britain and France instead of being forwarded to their intended recipients. This seriously affected morale and the War Department was desperate to find ways to clear the backlog and get the mail moving again. Enter the WAC.

From the moment the WAC was created in July 1943, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and others pushed Congress and the Army to include Black women in its ranks. African-American advocacy groups further demanded that Black women be given the same opportunity to serve overseas as white women. In 1944, the War Department gave in to these demands and formed the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion under the leadership of Major Charity Adams, the highest-ranking Black officer in the WAC.

The 6888th was tasked with clearing out the backlog of mail in Birmingham, England. On February 3, 1945, they set sail for Great Britain, though the convoy in which they were traveling had to be rerouted because of German U-Boat activity. When they arrived in Birmingham, they found several warehouses filled with undelivered mail. The unit was broken into three groups, each of which worked an 8-hour shift, seven days a week. 

The warehouses in which they worked were dim and lacked adequate heating and the windows had to be covered to avoid attracting attention during night-time raids. As critical as their work was, they could not escape maltreatment frequently experienced by black citizens during this time. While the women were welcomed by the local community, they faced discrimination within the Army. After being denied admission to a local club for enlisted personnel, they created their own food hall, hair salon, and refreshment bar.

Despite these harsh conditions, Major Adams and her unit continued to work through all the undelivered mail, processing an estimated 65,000 pieces per shift. They had been given six months to clear out the warehouses, but they finished the job in three. After V-E Day, they were sent to France to deal with more undelivered mail and, in February of 1946, they returned to the United States and were discharged. 

At the time, they received no formal recognition or accolades, but in more recent years, their bravery, service, and contribution to the war effort have been acknowledged and celebrated by the U.S. government. On February 28, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 422-0 to award the Congressional Medal of Honor to the women of the 6888th. 

The True North Foundation is honored to share the inspiring story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Their courage, perseverance, and dedication to duty deserve to be recognized and celebrated. To learn more about the work True North does with veterans and veteran advocacy groups, please consider signing up for our newsletter here.