Women’s History Month: Honoring the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
EASTERN SHORE, Md. – In honor of Women’s History Month, non-profits and educational organizations have held programs this week to celebrate the contributions African American women have made to the military, specifically, in World War II.
Managing the Mail
Emerita Professor of History Dr. Clara L. Small explains how the first and only All-Black Women’s Army Corps has connections to the Eastern Shore. “The six triple 8 Central Postal Battalion which consisted of 855 women throughout the nation, who served during World War II. They basically handled the mail.”
Community Connection
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black battalion led by Major Charity Adams was inspired after Activists like Mary Mcleod Bethune put pressure on the government to allow Black women to serve in the Women’s Army Corps.
Out of the 150,000 American women who enlisted in the military in World War II, only 4% were African American, and out of the 855 women who served in the 6 Triple 8, nineteen have connections to Maryland, five of them to the Eastern Shore.
“One was from Florida, but she married a man from Cambridge., so after the way they came to Cambridge- and he taught at Maces Lane and Saint Clair School in Cambridge… These women endured; they endured despite the harsh conditions under which they were placed. Having to run for shelter because there were still bombings going on.”
Dedicated & Determined
Dr. Small says February 1945 the 6888 Battalion was sent to Europe to sort an estimated 17 million pieces of mail, making them the first and only black Battalion that went overseas.
“Those women were dedicated, and they were highly educated. Most of them had college degrees, most of them were teachers and when the war was over, they came back, there were no parades for them, No one wrote about or even talked about their contributions.”
No Mail = Low Morale
With a motto of “No mail, low morale,” the 6888th Battalion cleared the backlog of mail in 3 months, a job that was expected to take years. “Mail had been stacked up 2 or 3 years. These ladies worked 8-hour shifts, and they were so concerned that the men received their mail, and family members received their mail because most people thought that they were dead because they hadn’t heard from them.”
Dr. Small says contributions like these need to be acknowledged, and In Maryland, March 9th was declared the 6 triple 8th Central Postal Directory Battalion Day. For more information on the Battalion and their contributions to the shore, visit their website.
