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House Resolution 1
A resolution recognizing the 80th anniversary of the 2
6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. 3
4
WHEREAS, recruiting began in late 1944 for the 6888th 5
Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all -black unit of the 6
Women's Army Corps (WAC) and the only such WAC unit to be 7
stationed overseas during World War II, who were deployed to the 8
European theater in 1945, and 9
WHEREAS, the "Six Triple Eight," as the 6888th Ce ntral 10
Postal Directory Battalion was known, consisted of five 11
companies, totaling 855 women, and was led by Major Charity 12
Adams, and 13
WHEREAS, at least 23 women of the 6888th Central Postal 14
Directory Battalion were Florida residents, including: 15
Technician Fifth Grade Edna Cross Burton; Sergeant Gladys 16
Selucia Clayton; Private First Class Beatrice Cosey; Private 17
Thelma Ann Duncan; Private Ruby Leania Everett; Private Jennie 18
Lee Fayson; Private First Class Burnadine Flanagan; Corporal 19
Jessie Lee Godboldte; Pr ivate Sarah L. Greenlee; Staff Sergeant 20
Dena M. Hutchins; Private Florida Bell Jackson; Private First 21
Class Elizabeth Ola Lamb; Staff Sergeant Fannie Boyd Little; 22
Private Josie M. Lowe; Corporal Marion Mackey; Private Erma 23
Louise Rodriguez; Corporal Dannie M. Singleton; Staff Sergeant 24
Elaine O. Smith; Private First Class Florita Davis Smith; 25
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Private Geneva Iona Smith; Technician Fifth Grade Essie M. 26
Watts; Private Willie Mae Williams; and Private First Class 27
Ethel Mae Wingo, and 28
WHEREAS, many sergeants of the 6888th Central Postal 29
Directory Battalion were trained as medical technicians, having 30
worked in hospitals before their selection for the battalion, 31
and 32
WHEREAS, more than 3.3 billion pieces of mail went through 33
military postal services to the front li nes in 1945 alone, yet a 34
lack of qualified postal officers led to a backlog of more than 35
17 million pieces of mail and packages, many often mislabeled or 36
incorrectly addressed, and 37
WHEREAS, the lack of communication from families, friends, 38
and loved ones in the United States was having a measurable 39
impact on troop morale on the front lines, with some personnel 40
not having received mail in more than 6 months, and 41
WHEREAS, to eliminate the impact that the lack of 42
communication was having on troop morale, the 6888th Central 43
Postal Directory Battalion was assigned to Birmingham, England 44
and the battalion had 6 months to complete the task of sorting, 45
cataloguing, and delivering the backlog of mail, and 46
WHEREAS, despite working in derelict buildings in dangerous 47
territory, without adequate lighting or heat, the women of the 48
6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion worked around the 49
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clock, sorting roughly 195,000 pieces of mail a day, and 50
completed their assignment in 90 days, and 51
WHEREAS, the women of the 6888t h Central Postal Directory 52
Battalion accomplished this extraordinary feat while overcoming 53
segregation, meager rations, and harsh conditions, and 54
WHEREAS, in June 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory 55
Battalion was relocated to Rouen, France, to conti nue its 56
mission, beginning its work a few weeks after victory was 57
declared in Europe, and the women cleared a similarly sized mail 58
backlog as quickly as they did in England, and 59
WHEREAS, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was 60
awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2022, a recognition of 61
the battalion's training and meritorious service which also 62
acknowledged the racism and sexism of the times, and 63
WHEREAS, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion's 64
efficiency, dedication, and hard work pr ovided a valuable and 65
essential wartime service to the United States, especially to 66
the many thousands of soldiers and their families, NOW, 67
THEREFORE, 68
69
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 70
Florida: 71
72
That, in recognition of the battalion's 80th anniversary, 73
the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion are 74
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commended for their unwavering service to the United States Army 75
and its personnel during World War II. 76