Milwaukee's Anna Mae Robertson, one of last surviving members of World War II's famed Six Triple Eight unit, dies at 101
Robertson was among the 855 women in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black female unit stationed overseas during World War II.
The women were sent to Birmingham, England, to clear a nearly three-year logjam of mail. Sacks of letters were piled ceiling-high in a dark and damp warehouse, destined for homesick soldiers fighting in Europe. They came up with their own system — some were only addressed to "Junior, U.S. Army" or "Bob Smith."
The battalion was charged with clearing it in six months. They cleared it in three, breaking all Army records. With the slogan 'No Mail, Low Morale,' the unit worked 24 hours a day, processing an average of 195,000 pieces of mail in three eight-hour shifts. They did it again in France.
In 2022, Robertson, then 98, and other members of the Six Triple Eight received the Congressional Gold Medal. At the time, there were only six known living veterans of the unit.
'They broke barriers,' granddaughter Kenya Robertson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time. 'It took about 70 or so years for the world to know the role of Anna Robertson and the women of Six Triple Eight played in War World II.'
Robertson was born in Mississippi and was living in Arkansas when her mother died. She had no way to support herself and decided to join the Army at 19 years old. Her brother, Zeredee Griffin, served in the Navy.
"I felt as though we were relieving a man who could go over and fight. We could do what the men had been doing," Robertson told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Meg Jones in 2014.
After the war, Robertson visited Milwaukee to attend the wedding of a fellow Six Triple Eight member. She found a job as a nurse's aide at the VA hospital and lived in Milwaukee since. Her husband, John Robertson, died in 1982.
In a May 31 statement about Robertson's passing, Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore said she joins the community in mourning her loss and remembering her trailblazing legacy.
"I am thankful that my constituent, Ms. Robertson, was able to receive her flowers while she could still smell them," Moore said.
More: Barrier breaker: Anna Mae Robertson played key role in stabilizing soldiers' morale during WWII
After decades of little recognition or honor for their service, the story of Robertson's unit reached the big screen.
"The Six Triple Eight," written and directed by Tyler Perry and starring Kerry Washington, began streaming on Netflix in December. It received an Academy Award nomination for best original song.
The battalion was also featured in a 2019 documentary, produced by Wisconsin native James Theres, and the subject of a musical.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ahead of the film's release, Sheree Robertson described her mother as a "quiet warrior."
She worked hard, raised eight children and lived a good life, Sheree said. She never expected anything in return but enjoyed the love and attention she received in recent years, she said.
'People need to realize the contributions those women made to their country and the sacrifices they made to their country when their country did not treat them with respect and dignity,' Sheree said. 'They still felt a duty to go in there and do an outstanding job.'
American military units were segregated by race and gender during World War II. Members of the Six Triple Eight could not eat meals with other American soldiers. They ran their own dining facility and slept in separate barracks.
Washington, who portrayed Six Triple Eight's leader Maj. Charity Adams in the film, said in a May 31 Facebook post that the day she met Robertson will be "forever cherished deeply in my heart."
"Your legacy will live on through the strength of your beautiful family and in the hearts of Black people everywhere," Washington wrote. "You, and the extraordinary women of (the Six Triple Eight) you're meeting up in heaven, paved the way with grace, grit and bravery."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter La Risa R. Lynch contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Anna Mae Robertson, member of Six Triple Eight battalion, dies at 101
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