In 1945, the U.S. Government faced low morale and growing frustration over undelivered mail amongst those serving in Europe. It was decided the large backlog of undistributed mail would be dealt with by the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. The battalion, nicknamed the “Six-Triple Eight,” was a multi-ethnic unit of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) comprised of Black, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Mexican soldiers. Upon their arrival in England in February of 1945, they were tasked with processing the mail backlog within six months. Under the Command of Major Charity Adams (Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley), Captain Mary F. Kearney, and Captain Bernice G. Henderson, the soldiers outperformed their expected timeline, sorting through all of the mail in just three months.
A new film celebrating the accomplishments of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion is set to be released later this month. Before watching the modern adaptation of the story of the 6888th, learn more about the battalion from records featured in the past by the Unwritten Record: No Mail, Low Morale: The 6888th Central Postal Battalion, and African American Women in the Military During WWII.
The Unwritten Record has not yet covered the following clip taken from RG 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (Local ID: 111-ADC-4627). According to the related shot card, the footage was captured in May 1945 and includes Major Adams, WAC officers, and many unnamed soldiers of the 6888th during their time in Rouen, France.
Please Note: Primary source documents used in this post may contain harmful language. See NARA’s Statement on Potentially Harmful Language.