Photo Credit: National Archives and Records Administration
Leavenworth, Kansas is now potentially home to another monument honoring the works of Black soldiers. Efforts are ongoing to fundraise $70,000 for a monument honoring the 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion, the only Black Women's Army Corps unit to be sent overseas during World War II.
Nicknamed the "Six Triple Eight," the women were deployed from February 1945 to January 1946 to sort backlogged mail located inside of an aircraft hanger. They accomplished their mission of sorting seven million pieces of mail in only three months. The unit was assigned to Birmingham England, Rouen, France and Paris, France during World War II.
"Their task was complicated because some of the letters were addressed just to Junior, U.S. Army, and 7,500 were addressed to Robert Smith," according to a press release. "If a letter was sent to the European Theater of Operations between 1943-46, these ladies probably sorted those letters."
Carlton Philpot, the chairman of the group commissioning the monument, says that the monument will showcase photographs of the 6888th as well as a 22-inch bust of the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams. Eddie Dixon, a master sculpture for the historical arts, will create the sculpture. The monument will join the Buffalo Soldier monument also located at Fort Leavenworth, the home of the first Black regiments formed during peacetime.
Photo Credit: Carlton Philpot/Leavenworth Times
A campaign to share the story of the unit and make the public aware of their contributions is currently underway. To donate to the campaign to honor these courageous women, please visit: www.womenofthe6888th.org/