02-04-2025
Reading NAACP honors local member of famed all-Black women's WAC unit
Sharon Holtz grew up knowing that her aunt, Pfc. Phyllis Long Green, served in the Women's Army Corps, or WAC, during World War II.
But it wasn't until recently that she discovered the details.
Long Green was a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black WAC unit deployed overseas during World War II.
Holtz of Shillington, her sister Rosalind Matthews of Landover, Md., and other family members took part Friday in a ceremony honoring their relative.
Sharon Holtz, Phyllis Long Green's niece, speaks about her aunt during a wreath laying ceremony honoring WWII PFC Phyllis Long Green on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Charles Evans Cemetery. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The program presented by NAACP Reading Branch 2289 included a wreath laying at Long Green's grave in Charles Evans Cemetery, 1119 Centre Ave.
The service was followed by a panel discussion at the Berks History Center, 940 Centre Ave., on racism and sexism in the military.
More than 100 gathered at the gravesite to pay homage to Long Green and recognize her service.
'We grew up, of course, knowing that she was in the WACs,' Holtz said of her aunt. 'She would tell us certain things, but we didn't know the whole story.'
That was until Holtz watched the 2024 Netflix film 'The Six Triple Eight,' written and directed by Tyler Perry. The movie, based on the article 'Fighting a Two-Front War' by Kevin M. Hymel, tells the story of how the unit was formed, its deployment in 1945 to England and France and its work clearing a massive backlog of mail.
It depicts the many challenges the women faced, including racism and sexism within the military and from U.S. and British citizens.
The unit is also the subject of several documentaries available for online streaming.
The Reading High School JROTC salutes as Taps are played during a wreath laying ceremony honoring WWII PFC Phyllis Long Green on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Charles Evans Cemetery. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The event Friday was part of a larger effort by the NAACP Pennsylvania Conference to identify the graves of and honor the 17 Pennsylvanians who served in the Six Triple Eight.
Their names were read by Le'shay Collins, a Reading High School senior and cadet in the school's Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, or JROTC.
Corps members presented the colors and took part in the service.
The event marked Women's History Month, an annual observance in March highlighting the contributions of women to U.S. history.
Women veterans of Berks County (in red) salute as Taps is played during a wreath laying ceremony honoring WWII PFC Phyllis Long Green on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Charles Evans Cemetery. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Born in Reading in 1920, Long Green was the youngest of Thomas J. and Elizabeth (Miller) Long's 14 children.
Orphaned by age 12, she lived with an older sister, Ellen Gehris, while attending Reading High School.
She was working as a clerk in New York when she enlisted in the WACs in 1944, said Barry Kauffman, a local historian who is researching Long Green's service for an article in the Historical Review of Berks County.
Kauffman said he hopes to learn more about her work with the unit.
The Reading High School JROTC presents the colors during a wreath laying ceremony honoring WWII PFC Phyllis Long Green on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Charles Evans Cemetery. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Although the Six Triple Eight was assigned to clear a mail backlog, he said, not all its members had postal jobs. Some worked as cooks, medics, clerks, military police and in other supporting roles.
Because women were not allowed to carry weapons, WAC MPs were trained in martial arts, he noted.
'They could handle any problem that an MP would normally handle by throwing somebody over their shoulder,' Kauffman said.
Following the war, Green Long married Howard Green and lived in Philadelphia, where she worked for 25 years as a telecommunications expert.
She died in 1998 and was survived by a stepdaughter, Ardella Woodburn, Atlanta; a brother, Forrest Long, Brooklyn; and two sisters, Jesse Evans, Shillington, and Rose Jones, Brooklyn, according to her Reading Eagle obituary.
As one of 855 Black women who served during World War II, Green Long deserves to be honored and remembered, Kauffman said.
U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan presents a flag flown over the Capitol in honor of PFC Phyllis Long Green to Green's niece Sharon Holtz during a wreath laying ceremony honoring Green on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Charles Evans Cemetery. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Speaking at the event, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a veteran of the Air Force, said it is especially fitting to pay respect to Long Green and her historic legacy during Women's History Month.
'I commend Phyllis and her battalion's incredible drive to serve our country in a time of great need during World War II,' the representative said.
Other speakers included Wynton Butler, president of the Reading NAACP; the Rev. Alberta Jones, pastor of Bethel AME Church, Reading; and state Sen. Judy Schwank.
Wreaths were presented by Bethel, American Legion George Washington Carver Post 962 and Victor Lodge 72.
The ceremony also included an invocation by the Rev. Dennis Williams, senior pastor of Church of God in Christ, Reading, and benediction by the Rev. Pamela J. Johnson, assistant pastor of Life Church, Reading.
Looking out over the crowd gathered to honor her aunt, Holtz said she was filled with joy.
'It's just wonderful,' she said. 'It just does my heart so good.'
