The Six Triple Eight: The 6888th Postal Directory Battalion

The 6888th Postal Directory Unit was a historic and groundbreaking unit in World War II. The battalion consisted on 850 women in the Woman's Auxillary Corp (WACs). Afteer peititioning the War Department for over two years for an assigment in the European theatre, on February 3, 1945, the first contingent of the 6888th sailed for Glasgow, Scotland. Once in Glasgow, they traveled by to Birmingham, England. Once in Birmingham, they encountered warehouses of undelivered mail. Housed in the King Edward's School. which was unhearted, and the windows were blacked out to avoid detection during raids, they performed heroically under pressure. Despite the conidtions, the unit created a new tracking system to processs mail and cleared a six month backlog in three months. They processed an average ofd 65,000 pieces of mail in three shifts. Their motto was "No mail, low morale." After clearing the backlog in Brimingham, the 6888th sailed to France June 9, 1945. In Rouen, they encountered another backlog of mail. The unit was quartered in the Caserne Tallandier, an old French barracks within a walled compound. In addition to their postal work, the women fielded a successful basketball team. After completing the work in Rouen, the battalion moved on to Paris. There they prcoessed mail and policied the local population who would often steal small items and packages due to the extreme conditions caused by the war. In February 1946, the remainder of the unit returned to the United States and was disbanded at Fort Dix, New Jersey, without further ceremony.

Although their accomplishments were overlooked for decades, they are now receiving recognition. Tyler Perry's movie, The Six Triple Eight has brought their story to the big screen.

Below please find sources which provide a more complete portrait of the 6888th Battalion

6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion | U.S. Army Center of Military History

6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion - The Army Historical Foundation

6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (U.S. National Park Service)

6888th Postal Battalion Delivered High Spirits to Weary WWII Troops | National Archives

The Real History of the Six Triple Eight | American Air Museum

The True Story of Netflix's 'Six Triple Eight' | Smithsonian

WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion

The SixTripleEight: No Mail, Low Morale | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

Women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – Army Women's Foundation

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