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SPONSOR: Rep. K. Johnson & Sen. Pinkney & Rep. Baumbach &
Rep. Briggs King & Rep. Carson & Rep. Hilovsky &
Rep. Osienski & Rep. K. Williams & Rep. Wilson-Anton
& Sen. Hansen & Sen. Mantzavinos & Sen. Pettyjohn &
Sen. Sokola & Sen. Townsend
Reps. Bush, Dorsey Walker, Griffith, Neal, Schwartzkopf,
Spiegelman; Sens. Brown, Buckson, Gay, Hocker,
Hoffner, Huxtable, Lawson, Lockman, S. McBride,
Paradee, Poore, Richardson, Sturgeon, Walsh, Wilson
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 39
HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE 6888TH CENTRAL POSTAL DIRECTORY BATTALION OF THE
WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS.
WHEREAS, in November 1944, the U.S. War Department lifted the ban on African-American women in the 1
Women’s Army Corps (WACs), leading to the formation of the 6888
th
Central Postal Directory Battalion; and 2
WHEREAS, the 6888
th
Central Postal Directory Battalion was a unique U.S. Army unit that had the distinction of 3
being the only all African-American, all-female battalion to be deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during 4
World War II; and 5
WHEREAS, 855 African-American women - 824 enlisted and 31 officers - served in the 6888
th
Central Postal 6
Directory Battalion (nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight”), and the 6888
th
Battalion was commissioned from February 1945 to 7
March 1946; and 8
WHEREAS, the specific mission of the 6888
th
Battalion in World War II was to sort and clear a multi-year backlog 9
of mail for American Army, Navy, Air Force, Red Cross and uniformed civilian specialists who were stationed in Europe, 10
and this represented seven million people awaiting mail; and 11
WHEREAS, the 6888
th
Battalion trained at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and learned to identify enemy aircraft, ships 12
and weapons; to climb ropes, jump trenches and crawl under logs wearing gas masks; to board and evacuate ships; and to do 13
long marches with rucksacks; and 14
WHEREAS, in February 1945, the first contingent of the 6888
th
embarked from Camp Shank, New York to sail for 15
Britain, and their ship, the Ile de France, survived close encounters with Nazi U-boats and arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, 16
where a German V-1 rocket exploded near the dock, causing the women to run for cover; and 17
WHEREAS, upon arrival by train in Birmingham, England, the Battalion confronted warehouses stacked to the 18
ceiling with letters and packages; and 19 Page 2 of 3
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WHEREAS, despite enduring inhumane working conditions (dark, unheated, rat-infested aircraft hangars with 20
broken windows) and air raids, the Battalion created a new mail tracking system, worked 3 separate 8-hour shifts, 7 days per 21
week to process an average of 65,000 parcels per shift (195,000 daily) and cleared the six-month backlog of mail in 3 months; 22
and 23
WHEREAS, having resolved the immense mail backlog in Birmingham, the 6888
th
Battalion sailed to France for 24
their next assignment in Rouen, where they encountered undelivered mail dating back two to three years, which the Battalion 25
successfully processed and cleared in 3 months; and 26
WHEREAS, after concluding their final assignment in Paris, the last of the Battalion returned to the United States 27
aboard the ship Claymont Victory and was disbanded in March 1946 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, with no parades, public 28
appreciation or official recognition of their accomplishments; and 29
WHEREAS, the Battalion adhered to the motto “No mail, low morale” and provided essential support to the U.S. 30
military in the European Theater by linking service members to their loved ones back home, thereby achieving unprecedented 31
success and efficiency in solving the military’s postal problems; and 32
WHERAS, the 6888
th
Battalion was the largest contingent of African-American women to ever serve overseas, 33
dispelled stereotypes and represented a change in racial and gender roles in the military; and 34
WHEREAS, on February 25, 2009, the 6888
th
Central Postal Directory Battalion was honored by President Barack 35
Obama at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery; and 36
WHEREAS, on November 30, 2018, a monument, inscribed “Women of Determination, Dedication and Distinction” 37
was dedicated to the 6888
th
Battalion at the Buffalo Soldier Memorial Park at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and 38
WHEREAS, the 6888
th
Battalion was awarded the Women’s Army Corps Service Medal, the European African 39
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal; and 40
WHEREAS, in 2019, the Army awarded the 6888
th
Battalion the Meritorious Unit Commendation; and 41
WHEREAS, on March 14, 2022, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to members of the Women’s Army 42
Corps who were assigned to the 6888
th
Battalion; and 43
WHEREAS, four members of the 6888
th
Battalion were residents of the State of Delaware at the time of enlistment: 44
CPL Grace Evelyn Bryant (Elbert), 1917-2000; CPL Edith Marguerete Carter, 1918-2000; PVT Mary Crawford (Ragland), 45
1922-2010; and PVT Evelina Rachel Griffin, 1917-1988. 46
NOW, THEREFORE: 47
BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the 152nd General assembly of the State of Delaware, the 48
Senate concurring therein, recognizes the contributions that the 6888
th
Central Postal Directory Battalion made to the United 49
States and offers gratitude for their outstanding efforts during World War II. 50 Page 3 of 3
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members do hereby acknowledge the service of then-Delaware residents CPL 51
Grace Evelyn Bryant (Elbert), CPL Edith Marguerete Carter, PVT Mary Crawford (Ragland) and PVT Evelina Rachel 52
Griffin. 53
SYNOPSIS
This Resolution honors the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the Women's Army
Corps.