Radio 4 - Six triple-eight Battalion

[Michael Dobbs]

[b]6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion[/b]

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was a unique U.S. Army unit and it had the distinction of being the only all-African American, all-female unit sent overseas during World War II. The women kept mail flowing to nearly seven million soldiers in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO).

For those of you interested in US military postal history during WW2 you may be interested in hearing the BBC Radio 4 programme aired yesterday (7th June 2023) - a 29 minute programme about Major Charity Adams and her unit, the first African American woman to be commissioned in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, who arrived in Birmingham, England, to sort out an enormous problem with US mail for troops in the UK and Europe - up to two years build up of mail, including Christmas parcels, stored in six rat-infested aircraft-hangers.  This is a most fascinating story on US postal history as well as the leadership role of a young junior female officer - well worth a listen (download the programme and you won't have to sign on or register with the BBC):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001mljz

For more historical information, including their time in France, click on these links:
https://armyhistory.org/6888th-central-postal-directory-battalion/
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6888th_Central_Postal_Directory_Battalion
and
https://www.womenofthe6888th.org/