On Tuesday (April 29), the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion — better known as the Six Triple Eight — received one of the nation’s highest civilian honors: the Congressional Gold Medal. Among the attendees was Stanley Earley III, who accepted the award on behalf of his mother, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley. The ceremony, held at Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol, marked a long-overdue moment of national recognition for the only all-Black, all-female battalion to serve overseas in World War II.
Comprised of 855 women, the battalion was formed under the Women’s Army Corps and led by Major Charity Adams, later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Her leadership made her the highest-ranking Black woman in the Army at the time. Their mission: Restore morale by sorting millions of backlogged letters meant for American troops in Europe.
How the Six Triple Eight boosted WWII troop morale through mail
In 1945, the Six Triple Eight was deployed to Birmingham, England, where they faced a mail backlog so massive it threatened to collapse the military’s communication system. Over 17 million undelivered pieces of mail had stacked up, often due to incomplete names or duplicate identities.
Working in three shifts around the clock, the women sorted roughly 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, clearing the entire backlog in just three months — half the time military leaders projected. They later repeated the feat in Rouen and Paris, France, always operating under their rallying cry: “No mail, low morale.”
Using a hand-created tracking system of over seven million index cards, the battalion ensured soldiers received letters and packages from home, lifting spirits during one of the darkest periods in global history.
The campaign that led to a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for the all-Black female battalion
Though they returned home as unsung heroes, the Six Triple Eight’s legacy has grown in the decades since. In 2019, the U.S. Armed Forces awarded them the Meritorious Unit Commendation. Legislation to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal was passed by the Senate in 2021 and unanimously by the House in 2022, after which President Joe Biden signed it into law. The ceremony didn’t take place until recently due to the time needed to design and mint the physical medal. Earlier this year, more than a dozen senators wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, urging him to “swiftly” schedule the event, citing a “critical juncture.”
“Today, only two members of the Six Triple Eight are known to be alive,” they wrote. “Those still surviving ought to not wait any longer to receive this long-awaited recognition they rightfully deserve.” One of the two living, retired Maj. Fannie McClendon, reflected on the moment following the vote. “It’s overwhelming,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s something I never even thought about it. I don’t know if I can stand this.”
Their story also reached the screen with Tyler Perry’s Netflix film The Six Triple Eight, released in December 2024 and starring Kerry Washington as Charity Adams Earley. The film was honored at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards with wins for Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Ensemble Cast.
The Six Triple Eight’s impact is undeniable: They restored morale, streamlined military logistics and shattered racial and gender barriers. Now, with the Congressional Gold Medal in hand, their service has finally received the official salute it always deserved.