The 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion

The soldiers of the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion are finally getting their due on a broader scale. This World War II unit consisted of 855 women of color and became the only such unit to deploy overseas during WWII. Their story remained virtually unknown until, in 2018, a small group of volunteers began to work and work hard to have them recognized for their accomplishments.

There was a meritorious unit citation issued by the Army, a memorial to the unit was built at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a Congressional Gold Medal passed in 2022, and now there is a movie to bring their story to new generations.

The 6888 movie opened in theaters on December 6, 2024. It has been available for streaming on Netflix since December 20th, and I’ve been thrilled to see the many comments on social media from people who absolutely loved this inspirational story.

Many of the comments were along the lines of, “I didn’t know this story,” and “Why have we never heard about this brave unit and what these women did?” Even Tyler Perry, who wrote and directed the movie, said he was ashamed he had never heard this story.

I said much the same thing when I first heard about the 6888 and their contributions to the war effort–they understood that mail is central to a soldier’s morale and well-being. And that morale is critical to a soldier’s ability to function and fight.

But it wasn’t a story I ever heard in the Army.

For many years following WWII, the story of the war was about the big picture–world leaders, politicians, generals, and battles and tactics. Then came the stories of individual bravery, medals, and accomplishment, but again, these were stories about the men who fought the war, their contributions, and their service.
But as any soldier knows, for every one serving on the front lines, there is a long tail of logistics behind that service member, regardless of service.
Logistics can make or break an operation, and it can also break the will of not only the soldier but of the enemy he faces. Logistics naturally includes the obvious, weapons and ammunition, adequate food, water, and clothing.

But the intangible is equally important–faith, connection, and family. Especially family.

Chaplains accompanied many units during the war, providing comfort and support. Medical units provided life-saving care. But connection…. Connection was provided by the link to home.

And absent Zoom calls, iPhone access, or even newspapers for the most part, that tenuous connection to family became even more important. Letters from home were coveted, read, and reread.

However, due to the rapid pace of operations in the European theater, delivery slowed, and then by 1944, it nearly stopped completely. The backlog of two or more years of troop mail meant soldiers and their families were fearing the worst.

What was happening at home? How were their parents? Did they have children? And at home, those fears were more pointed–could a loved one have been killed?

The 6888 had the mission to fix this major problem of connection. Their motto, “No Mail, Low Morale,” held true. They got the mission where others had failed, and it was clear they were expected to fail as well. But they did not. They could not.

As the war drew to a close, Army units did not return as whole organizations. Individuals returned according to how many points they had accumulated during their service. It was a way of managing the large numbers the Army and the Navy both had to deal with.

The 6888 dwindled in size throughout the summer and fall of 1945. The women in that organization didn’t expect awards, and 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.
The news of the day and many days thereafter pushed their story aside. Now we know them: the 855 women of color who served in the only such unit to deploy overseas in World War II. Theirs was the only unit to touch soldiers in every other unit in Europe.
Thank God they are receiving their due – remembrance, recognition, and respect.

Still others helped with the rehabilitation of the wounded. Gretchen Fraser taught skiing and horseback riding to wounded sailors at a rehabilitation hospital in Sun Valley, Idaho. After the war, she would begin to think about the Olympics again, but not then.

Millions of other women found their own ways to make a difference, to ‘do their bit.’

They all made a difference, some more than others, most more than even they could ever know. 

They set the table for us today.