1. 7 million or 17 million the number of letters the 6888th sorted/redirected?

2. 6888th was comprised of ALL the Black WACs in the army, this group included Hispanic and Puerto Rican.

3. The number of individuals assigned to the 6888th--enlisted plus officers is 817 vs 855.

4. The 6888th was the only WAC unit, White or Black, Deployed overseas.

5. The First WAC unit deployed overseas? The Black unit deployed overseas?

6. There 6888th was the first Postal Battalion in the army. There was a white postal unit.

7. The 6888th Broke records sorting, repackaging and redistributing letters and parcels.

8. The 6888th remained in the European Theater of Operations from 2 Feb until departed Le Havre France on 2 Mar 46 and arrived at New York on 8 Mar 46.According to the Army’s Data Card for the unit its mission in the Communications Zone in France began 4 Mar 1945 and ended 15 Feb 1946. (See attached Women’s Army Museum Letter dated 8/7/2020

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Who were the Primary Advocates for women serving in the Army?

• First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.
   

 

When was the Women Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) formed?

Bill created in May 1941.

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Bill into Law on May 15, 1942.

• May 16, 1942 Oveta Culp Hobby sworn in as the first WAAC Director

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation, July 1, 1943 dropping the word Auxiliary and renaming the women the Woman Army Corps (WAC). Giving women all the rank,

 

When and how the 6888th was formed

1. LTC Charity Adams, the FIRST of Three Commanding Officer of the 6888th: basically, described it in her book. “The bottom line, they were drawn across from 26 locations across the united states. But there is no room on the monument to list all the locations.”

2. In November 1944, despite the slow recruitment of volunteers, a battalion of eight hundred and seventeen (later eight hundred and twenty-four) enlisted personnel and thirty-one officers, all African American women drawn from the WACs, the Army Service Forces, and the Army Air Forces, was created which was eventually designated as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. The 6888th battalion was trained for their overseas mission at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/6888th-central-postal-directory-battalion-1945-1946

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Who was the first Black Woman Commissioned in the Women Army Auxiliary Corps?

(Page 43, in Charity Adams’ book One Woman’s Army, was the first African-American woman to be commissioned into the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, on 29 Aug 1942. “I was very happy on that day. The fact that I had been the first Negro woman to receive a commission in the WAAC was nearly as impressive as the fact the we had arrived… There was a historic change that took place at our graduation. Traditionally, at army graduations exercises the candidates are presented according to the company roster, which is the way were listed in the program. For our graduation the class was presented by platoons, which meant that The Third Platoon, the “colored girls,’ came last in the First Company.” My name was Adams and, alphabetically, I would have been the first WAAC officer to be commissioned (In the history of the Army). An official copy of that Graduation Program we believe support Charity’s claim provided in a separate document. Both files are too large to send as one attachment.)

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What was the size of the 6888th; Officers and Enlisted:

Most common answer: 824 Enlisted, 31 Officers. Some writings from 6888th members say there was 32.

NOTE: Our researcher has found the names of 32 officers assigned to the 6888th.

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Other Press Releases:

I have seen varying numbers for the members of the 6888th across the board. I have press releases that say 738 women plus 23 officers; another article says 677 women plus 24 officers; and then I have an unofficial history that says 824 women plus 31 officers. I would assume that last one accounts for your 855, which would include the officers. Ali Kolleda, Archivist, U.S. Army Women's Museum.

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Integration of WACs into the Regular Army

Congressional Bills to establish the WAC as a permanent part of the Army were introduced in Congress in 1946, 1947 and 1948, when the Women's Armed Services Integration Act finally passed. 1948. Mr. Dominic Johnson, researcher

FALSE: The 6888th was the only All Black Women Arm unit deployed overseas during WWII. The 6888th was not the only Black unit deployed during World War II, The Black nurses (not a WAC unit) were deployed to Liberia in 1943, and a group of Black Nurses also landed in the European Theater of Operations on 15 Aug 1944.

 

The 6888th was the only WAC unit Deployed to Europe during WWII

Not True: White WACs were deployed to every theater of operations. The first WAC unit sent overseas was the 149th Post Headquarters Company, which was sent to North Africa in 1943. Again, the 6888th was the first and only Black WAC unit sent overseas. Ali Kolleda, Archivist, U.S. Army Women's Museum.

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The 6888th was the only All Black Women (WAC Unit) deployed overseas during WWII.

 

TRUE: They were the FIRST and ONLY All Black WAC unit deployed overseas. A Black Female nursing were deployed to Liberia in 1943, but they are not a WAC unit. When talking and writing about the 6888th their Army Branch (Women Army Corps) should be included. It is not correct to say that the “6888th is the only all Black Female Army Unit (Their Branch of

Service should be injected) to be deployed overseas during WWII.” Without WACs being included the reader does not know whether these women were part of the Air Corps, Service Corps, Artillary Corps, JAG Corps etc.).

1. Deployed from FEB 1945 to MAR 1946.

2. Arrived in England late in the evening on Feb 12, 1945 by train from Glasgow Scotlant. PAGE 138, Charity Adams’ book, One Woman’s Army. Attached is an article of the Ft Hauchua Paper saying they arrived on 12 Feb 1945. 3. Stationed in: Birmingham, England, Rouen, France and Paris, France.

4. Clear up 2-3-year Mail Backlogs in these locations.

5. Mail stored in Aircraft hangars size Warehouses, old manufacturing plants and buildings.

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FALSE: The 6888th Sorted 7 million pieces of mail.

This is written in several writings we have researched. This is incorrect. The number 7 million is mentioned twice in Charity Adams’ book.

1. Page 148: The estimated number of personnel in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) “Only the War Department knew the exact number. Checking the number the CAC Historian at a Fort researched the records. Seven Million is the total number of US Personnel paerticipating in WWII, Of this number approximately three million was in the ETO>

2. Page 149: The number of names in the Postal Tracking Files/Directory. This number contains some duplications because each military personnel and other individuals were required to manually update and send in their location changes each time they moved. For some this would have several times a day. The actual number of letters and parcels sorted by the 6888th was closer to 17.5 million over the three-month period while in England . See below page 149 from Charity’s book, One Woman’s Army: