READING PASSAGE: Black Women Soliders of the 6888 Helped Boost Soldiers' Moral during WW2

The Black Women Soldiers of the 6888 Helped Boost Soldiers’ Moral during WW2
Gail Skroback Hennessey

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Today, text messages and email make instant communication possible so it is probably hard to imagine a time when mail via the post office was the main method of keeping in contact.

During World War 2, so much mail had not been delivered to soldiers stationed abroad, that it was piling to the ceilings in several warehouses. Mail wasn’t thought to be as important as moving equipment food and other needed supplies, so it was just not delivered. It was estimated that 17 million pieces of mail were left in warehouses.  An all black women battalion , part of the Women’s Army Corps, was tasked with going to Great Britain and taking on  this colossal job of sorting the mail and seeing that it was distributed to the soldiers.  Interestingly, in 1942, when the Women’s Army Corps was first established, only while female soldiers were admitted. It took the efforts of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, educator, Mary McLeod Bethune  and the National Council of Negro Women, Inc, to lobby for Black women to be accepted into the Women’s Army Corps.

Called the 6888 Postal Battalion Directory, this group of women soldiers traveled to Britain aboard the ship, the Ile de France. Along the way the ship had several close encounters with Nazi U-boats. Eventually, the battalion arrived at Birmingham, England. Major Charity Adams was the battalion leader of the 6888.

One member of the 6888 was lieutenant Fannie Griffin McClendon. Now, 104, and having earned the title of Major, McClendon remembers being part of this battalion, as a supervisor.
McClendon said the 6888 did a very important job, boosting the soldiers’ morale by getting communication, photographs and parcels of goodies from loved ones back home.
“Some mail had no names on the envelopes, others  were addressed using only nicknames like “Buddy”. Others  were addressed to a common name such as John Smith. Sometimes, if the mail didn’t have a name, we’d send it on to someone. At least a soldier got some mail!”

The women members of the 6888(also called the “six triple eight”) were given six months to sort the mail but working 3 shifts each day, distributing 65,000 pieces of mail each shift, they manage to complete their assignment in less than three months! This was an amazing achievement when you realize there were no computers at that time and everything had to be done by hand.

McClendon remembers local town’s people would come to watch the soldiers do their job. Conditions were poor but the soldiers knew that what those on the battlefield were going through was much worse.  The buildings were cold with little heat, the lighting was poor, the few windows were covered to protect from enemy air raids. Rodents were aplenty, scurrying around trying to get morsels from the parcels which contained food from back home. McClendon remembers, “ Our motto was ‘No mail, low morale.’ “

After Birmingham, England, the battalion was  moved  to Rouen, France, to sort mail there. After Rouen, the 6888 also went to Paris to sort and distribute accumulated mail.

After the war, the women of the 6888 came home to no recognition for what they did for the war effort. It wasn’t until February 28, 2022, that the U.S. House of Representative unanimously voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the women of the 6888 for their efforts.  President Joe Biden signed the bill into law.

Additional FACTS:
Only 2-3 members of the 6888 are still alive.(2025)
In 2023, Charity Adams was honored with her name being co-listed for the replacement name of Fort Lee. Now called  Fort Gregg-Adams, Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams is the only Black woman to receive this honor.

Vocabulary:
Battalion: a troop
Lobby: To change opinion
Encounter: to meet
Motto: ideal to live by
Unanimously: everyone voted in agreement

Comprehension Questions:
What were some of the conditions that the 6888 Battalion faced?
Why was what the 6888 did a moral booster for the troops?
Why didn’t the mail get shipped to the soldiers?   
Why do you think the women of the 6888 didn’t get any recognition for what they accomplished during the war?                  

Extension Activities:                                                     

  1.Write a postcard pretending to be a woman of the 6888 and write three facts about what you experienced.
  2.. Place the vocabulary words in sentences.

Links for Teachers:
Smithsonian
American Comes Alive
NPS

RESOURCES YOU MAY FIND OF INTEREST:
WW 2 Female Pilots during WW2:
Tuskegee Airmen of WW2:
Life on the Home Front during WW2:
Japanese Interment during WW2:
Black History Month:
Women History Month:

NOTE:
Major Fannie McClendon was kind to give me a photograph to use. :-)