Six Triple Eight presented with Congressional Gold Medal by Speaker Mike Johson
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTAL/KMSS) – Members of an elite female WWII unit that notably improved the morale for soldiers on the European battlefront were honored by Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday.
During a Congressional Medal Ceremony on April 30, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, also referred to as the Six Triple Eight, received the honor during the bipartisan event.
The Six Triple Eight was the first and only all-Black, all-female unit to serve overseas in Europe during WWII. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley, the unit was instrumental in clearing the U.S. Army's backlog of over 17 million pieces of mail in just three months, which was twice as fast as the projected completion time.
'The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor this body can bestow. It's reserved for those whose courage and service shaped our country and our nation's story,' Speaker Johnson said. 'It's in this spirit that we gather to award this medal to the 6888, the Central Postal Directory. It's 6888, but we call it the six triple eight.'
The ceremony was held in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol, and House and Senate leadership were in attendance for the momentous event. Also present were Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley's son, Stanley Earley III, and daughter, Judith Earley, who accepted the medal on behalf of the 855 women who served in the Six Triple Eight.
Speaker Johnson continued his remarks saying, 'This battalion was the first and the only unit of African American women to serve overseas during World War II. As tens of thousands of Allied forces made their final push across Europe, the mail system was stretched thin from scarce resources. It was crippling under the weight of wartime logistics. Then, just as today, letters of home were very, very important. They were lifelines that grounded the soldiers. They reminded our brave heroes of all they were fighting for, it was actually waiting back at home. Morale reports during the war underscore just how important mail was to the soldiers' spirit, so much so that the phrase no mail, low morale became widespread. It was later adopted by the army as the official motto of the six triple eight yet for all the importance of mail, millions of undelivered letters piled up in dark warehouses across Europe, and those letters might well have stayed there, were it not for the work of the women that we celebrate today?'
In 2024, Tyler Perry directed 'Six Triple Eight,' a biopic starring Kerry Washington as Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley, which shares the long-forgotten story of women often overlooked in WWII history. Their dedicated service kept soldiers connected to loved ones while they valiantly fought to liberate Europe.
'Okay, these women and the entire Six Triple Eight, are great American patriots, loyal to a nation that, for far too long, failed to return that favor. And I'm glad to say that that's changing, and we're doing that here today,' Speaker Johnson said.
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