Plain Talk: The 'Six Triple Eight' deserves a Congressional Gold Medal
Washington,
July 3, 2020
(Madison) - It may not be as momentous as the 244th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but there's another piece of history — actually, African-American history — that deserves recognition this 4th of July.
In fact, Milwaukee Congresswoman Gwen Moore is hoping that she can get Congress to award an all Black Women's Army Corps unit known as the "Six Triple Eight" a Congressional Gold Medal for its overseas service during World War II. It would be a fitting tribute if the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was so honored in 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of the second world war. As has so often been the case in American history, the unit of more than 850 African American women faced incredible odds, sexism and racism, as they were finally deployed overseas to clear up an enormous backlog of undelivered mail to American soldiers fighting in Europe. Several white WAC units had been sent overseas during the war, but it wasn't until November of 1944 that the War Department approved sending African-American women. The 6888th battalion was drawn from the Women's Army and Air Forces across the country. By early 1945, the backlog had grown to an estimated 18 million pieces of mail. The Army despaired for the morale of the troops moving across Europe on the way to Germany, hungry for letters and news from home. Finally, in May of 1945, it sent the unit to Birmingham, England, to tackle the backlog that one general was convinced would take six months to untangle. The Six Triple 8 organized "undeliverable" mail, determined the intended recipient, handled mail addressed to service members who had been killed and wound up processing an average of 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, clearing the backlog in just three months. Later that month, a contingent of the battalion was sent to Rouen, France, and worked through a separate backlog of undeliverable mail dating back three years. The entire unit was deployed back to the U.S. in March of 1946. The 6888 was recognized with a Meritorious Unit Commendation medal by the Defense Department in 2019 and the United Kingdom recognized it with a plaque to mark where the women were stationed during the war. Rep. Moore thinks they deserve higher honors for the unit's pioneering military service and their devotion to duty despite the obstacles they faced. She has been able to get 91 sponsors for her bill (Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Mark Pocan are aboard) to award the unit after all these years with a Congressional Gold Medal. It's not an easy task because it needs the vote of two-thirds of the House and the Senate. But, her office says the congresswoman hopes to get it in the House Armed Services Committee mark-up in the next few weeks while a companion bill sponsored by Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran is making its way through that house. According to Colonel (Ret.) Edna Cummings, who is helping Moore gather the needed votes, there are still 11 surviving members of the 6888th, including 96-year-old Anna Mae Robertson of Milwaukee. Mrs. Robertson is the mother of Sheree Robertson of Madison, an attorney with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, who put me on to the 6888th and its amazing history. Sheree reports that her still active mother, unfortunately now restricted by the coronavirus pandemic, joined the WAC in 1943 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She later moved to Milwaukee, married and raised eight children. As Col. Cummings said, "They deserve their place in our nation's history alongside the Tuskegee Airmen, Women Air Service Pilots, the Montford Point Marines, Rosie the Riveters and many others whose distinguished service help secure our freedoms." Here's hoping Gwen Moore succeeds in her quest to honor this unique group of women. |
