The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Monday, October 3, 2022

A WW II Unit and Woman Receives Long Overdue Recognition, the 6888th-- Part 1: Fannie McClendon

From the August/September, 2022,  AARP Magazine "Woman of Letters" as told to Robin Westen.

Vet Fannie McClendon's World War II unit receives long overdue recognition.

When she was in high school, her favorite subjects were history and geography, so she figured a good way to see the world and get close to history was to enlist in the Army.  The military was still segregated back then (she is a black woman) and she was assigned to the first all-black, all-female United States Army unit to be deployed overseas.

She served in Europe during the war with the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.  (I have written about them before, just click on the label below.)

"We had an important job to do.  Our soldiers in Europe weren't getting their letters and packages delivered -- there was a backlog of two to three years.  And the mail is the thread that keeps our service members connected to their families back home."

--GreGen


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