No Ceremony, No Parade

June 1945 ushered in a sudden adjustment to the concept of peace. Major Charity Adams and the 855 soldiers in her unit, the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion, were all contemplating a return home to America and to civilian life.

There were still challenges for, as Charity stated in her autobiography, One Woman’s Army, the sudden shift to peacetime had an effect.

Following VE Day and the lessening of mission pressure, more of her soldiers felt their individual and personal problems moving to the forefront.

The mission to sort the backlog of diplomatic mail in Rouen, France, was completed, and the soldiers were then sent to Paris.

Gradually, the unit would begin to lose personnel. But Charity did all she could to be certain that the troops were aware that the war in the Pacific was still being waged.
In 1946, the unit was deactivated at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The women went home, and the postwar era began.

There was no ceremony, no parade.

For years, many of the 6888 veterans stayed in touch, met for an annual reunion, and reminisced with each other about their time in Europe. The women in that organization didn’t expect awards. They didn’t believe they deserved much news coverage. Like the majority of their fellows in the “Greatest Generation,” they were modest and didn’t talk much about their service.

Their story remained virtually unknown until 2018, when a small group of volunteers led by retired Army Colonel Edna Cummings began working, and working hard, to have them recognized for their accomplishments.

A meritorious unit citation was issued by the Army, a memorial to the unit was built at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a documentary film followed, and then the push for a Congressional Gold Medal for the 6888 succeeded. It passed Congress in 2022.

The medal was finally presented on April 29th at the U.S. Capitol.

Over 300 descendants of 6888 members were in attendance, including Charity Adams’ two children, Stanley Earley III and Judith. Many family members carried photographs and mementos of their loved ones. The House of Representatives leadership all spoke and presented the medal itself.

There are now two Post Offices named for soldiers from the 6888 Central Postal Battalion. The Indiana Hunt-Martin Post Office was dedicated in Buffalo, New York, in 2023. The Millie Dunn Veasey Post Office was dedicated in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 9, 2025.

A major exhibit from the National World War II Museum in New Orleans is now traveling the U.S. for the next three years. It recognizes the contributions of the 6888 and those of the other 350,000 women who served in the U.S. military during the war.

They cannot be forgotten now. They will not be forgotten now.

The 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only unit to touch soldiers in every other unit in Europe.