In 1945, the 6888th, an all-Black, all-female Military unit, made historical past by clearing a large mail backlog to help troops throughout World Conflict II. Their story remained largely untold for many years—till Tyler Perry introduced it to life for The Six Triple Eight, now streaming on Netflix.

Throughout WWII, about 6,500 Black girls served throughout all 5 branches of the U.S. army, and 432 misplaced their lives. The Six Triple Eight highlights the ladies of the 6888th Central Postal Listing Battalion, who sorted over 17 million items of mail forward of schedule regardless of dealing with discrimination and poor working situations.

Kerry Washington, who stars in and govt produces the movie, performs Captain Charity Adams, the battalion’s commanding officer and the primary African American girl to turn out to be an officer within the Girls’s Military Corps.

“Charity Adams and the ladies of the 6888th have been extraordinary,” the Scandal actress advised BET.com. “They completed a lot underneath such difficult circumstances. To step into her footwear and inform this story is a privilege and a duty.”

Learn on to find the true story that impressed The Six Triple Eight and the way the remaining survivors are being honored as we speak.

Is The Six Triple Eight Based mostly On A True Story?

Sure, The Six Triple Eight is predicated on the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Listing Battalion. Fashioned by the U.S. Military in late 1944, the unit consisted of 850 Black girls throughout 5 firms. It was led by Military Main Charity Adams, who was the highest-ranking Black girl throughout World Conflict II, in accordance with the U.S. Division of Protection.

Mail was a vital lifeline for the roughly 7 million service members, Purple Cross employees, and authorities personnel, serving to them keep linked to family members again dwelling. Nevertheless, a scarcity of certified postal officers resulted in a major backlog of letters and packages, with some gadgets delayed for so long as three years.

By 1945, over 3.3 billion items of mail have been processed by means of army postal companies to succeed in the frontlines, in accordance with Kimberly Guise, senior curator on the Nationwide WWII Museum. To sort out the overwhelming backlog, the U.S. Military deployed the 6888th Central Postal Listing Battalion. Officers estimated it could take six months to finish the work at every location, however the battalion completed it in simply three months—half the time anticipated.

Below the management of Military Maj. Charity Adams, the 6888th underwent rigorous coaching within the U.S. earlier than embarking on their missions. Their preparation included impediment programs, fuel masks drills, learning enemy plane, ships, and weapons, in addition to studying the right way to board and evacuate ships.

“We needed to climb ropes … and are available down the aspect of a ship as would if it have been sinking. We needed to do some crawling underneath wire … We needed to placed on fuel masks … In order that was a part of it. Quite a lot of marching and simply preparing, getting outfitted, that form of factor,” 6888th member Gladys Carter recalled to the Nationwide Museum of the U.S. Military.

Deployment and Missions Of The 6888th Battalion

In February 1945, the 6888th Postal Battalion deployed to England, crossing U-boat-infested waters to reach in Glasgow, Scotland. Upon their arrival, a German V-1 rocket exploded close to the docks, forcing them to take cowl. They then traveled by practice to Birmingham, England, the place they started tackling the huge backlog of mail.

Upon reaching Birmingham, the ladies confronted difficult situations, working across the clock in chilly, dimly lit warehouses on three eight-hour shifts. Sorting by means of the mail, items, and letters was a frightening activity, as they usually encountered recipients with the identical names, inadequate addresses, or letters addressed solely by nicknames. To make sure profitable supply, they relied on serial and repair numbers to establish the proper recipients.

After finishing their work in Birmingham, the 6888th was despatched to Rouen, France, in June 1945. “We discovered the identical situation in France that we had present in England; the mail had been held up for months … There was mail that was two or three years previous,” service member Myrtle Rhoden recalled to the Nationwide Museum of the U.S. Military. They started their work a number of weeks after victory was declared in Europe, sorting mail alongside French civilians and German POWs, and so they cleared the backlog in 5 months.

In October 1945, the unit was despatched to Paris, the place they confronted the added problem of package deal thefts, which was a end result hardships endured by the French individuals throughout the battle. The ladies needed to examine these thefts and work with native civilians get better the stolen packages, in accordance with womenofthe6888th.org.

Throughout their service, Black Girls’s Military Corps (WAC) members confronted segregation, racism, and discrimination. Regardless of their coaching and training, they have been usually assigned menial duties. In accordance with the Nationwide Museum of the U.S. Military, some Black male service members assumed that the ladies have been despatched to Europe solely as companions for them. When the Purple Cross denied the ladies entry to their membership and as an alternative opened a segregated membership, the battalion collectively refused to enter to specific their disapproval.

The place Are The 6888th Battalion Members Immediately? How Are They Being Honored?

On Feb. 27, 1946, the remaining Troopers within the unit boarded the Claymont Victory en path to the US. The unit acquired the European African Center Japanese Marketing campaign Medal, the Girls’s Military Corps Service Medal, and the World Conflict II Victory Medal. Sadly, there was no different official recognition of their accomplishments till a few years later.

The surviving members of the 6888th have held reunions over time, together with one in 1979 in Cincinnati, Ohio. They gathered once more in 1981, this time returning to Birmingham, the place they have been honored at a reception hosted by the town’s lord mayor. Additionally they visited London, the place they have been celebrated by civil and army officers, and Paris, the place they got a guided tour of the town.

The work of the 6888th Central Postal Listing Battalion has been celebrated and documented in written accounts, documentaries, museum reveals, and public ceremonies. In 1995, Charity Adams authored a memoir about her expertise commanding the historic battalion. Dr. Brenda L. Moore printed a e-book in 1996, “To Serve My Nation, To Serve My Race: The Story of the Solely African American WACS Stationed Abroad Throughout World Conflict II,” based mostly on the memoirs of and interviews with girls who had served within the 6888th.

In 2022, solely six members of the Six Triple Eight have been nonetheless alive: Romay Davis, Cresencia Garcia, Fannie McClendon, Gladys E. Blount, Lena King, and Anna Mae Robertson. Davis, the oldest surviving member, handed away on June 21, 2024, at age 104, adopted by Blount, who handed only a day afterward June 22, 2024.

In 2018, a monument honoring the 6888th was unveiled at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the unit acquired the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2019. In February 2022, the Home of Representatives handed laws to award the 6888th the Congressional Gold Medal. The Senate had permitted the measure the earlier 12 months, and President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan invoice into regulation in March 2022.

“I want extra of the 6888th members have been right here, and I hope that I’m nonetheless right here. That will likely be an important day,” stated 6888th veteran Ms. Lena King, in accordance with the Military Girls’s Basis, when the invoice was signed.

“It is a great recognition of the vital service the 6888th supplied to this nation underneath terribly tough situations,” added Stanley Earley, a 6888th member of the family.

The Six Triple Eight is streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer under.