Five Blacks You Should Know-- Part 2: Charity Adams

Chariry Adams (1918-2000)

Adams, a member of the Women's Army Corps, served as the leader of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.  This was an all-Black unit.  These women delivered mail from the home front to troops in the European Theater, processing an average of 65,000 pieces of mail per shift.  Before these women got involved with the mail, it was hopelessly backlogged.

By making sure all the mail got through, she and her command helped keep the morale of American troops up.

The 6888th was also the largest group of black women to serve overseas during the war.  Adams saw her duty as showing white Americans what black women could do.  

"What we had was a large group of adult  Negro women who had been victimized, in one way or the other,  by racial bias,"  Adams said later.  "This was one opportunity for us to stand together for a common cause."

--GreGen

Fannie McClendon, 101, Up for a Gold Medal

From the November 11, 2021, Yahoo News "Honoring Fannie McClendon:  101-year-old Tempe veteran could receive national honor."

At 101 years old, Fannie McClendon still tells stories about her time in the U.S. Army and Air Force.  The Tempe, Arizona, resident occupies a unique place in history.

During World War II, she joined the only Army battalion comprised entirely of black women.  Her service  and the efforts of more than 800 of her fellow soldiers, could earn a Congressional Gold Medal.

It did and, well-deserved.

--GreGen

WW II Unit Receives Long-Overdue Recognition-- Part 3: Fannie McClendon

"All told, I was in the service for 26 1/2 years and never thought about getting any special honors.  I am amazed that I'll be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal for our service during the war.

"Every member of the 6888th will receive one.  I'm only sorry that out of more than 800 battalion members, only a handful of us are still living to see this day.

"I'm grateful to have lived an amazing life, but what matters most is what all those letters represented: staying connected to the ones we hold dear."

She certainly has lived an amazing life and especially with the things she accomplished while being a woman and especially being a black woman.  Talk about obstacles overcome.

A Proud Member of the GreGen, the Greatest Generation.  --GreGen

WW II Unit Receives Long-Overdue Recognition-- Part 2: Fannie McClendon

"Our battalion was determined to bring cheer and hope to our soldiers.  So when we first arrived in Birmingham, England, we worked in round-the-clock shifts, seven days a week, and in only three months we cleared up a backlog of around 17 million pieces of mail.  That was two times faster than the Army thought we could get it done.

"During the war, we also served in France.  After the war, I joined the Air Force.  I was in line to become a squadron commander, but every time I got assigned, they would send me for more training.  But, that's all right.  At training camp in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is where I met my late husband, Roy.  

"And, eventually, I did get that promotion.  I became the first woman to lead an all-male squadron in the Strategic Air Command."

Not to mention that she was a black woman and to rise to that rank and command back then was nothing short of amazing.

Quite a Woman.  --GreGen

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

Black Female WW II Unit Seeks Gold Medal-- Part 6

A bill in Congress would rename a post office in Buffalo, New York, after the battalion's Indiana Hunt-Martin, who died last year.

And, there is a push for a Congressional Gold Medal.

"These women were trailblazers, and it is past time that we officially recognize them for the incredible contribution to our troops during World War II," said Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, who is co-sponsoring the bill.

Like McClendon, Moore's family said she would be honored, but not enamored by the award.  She rarely talked about her time with the 6888th when she was alive, preferring to let those accomplishments speak for themselves.

"She would have said, 'This is an amazing, wonderful honor and I am very proud to have served.'  Then she would have went on with her life," said Moore's niece Elizabeth Pettiford, who grew up next door to Moore in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  

"I just don't think she would have made a huge thing about it because that was her personality.  She kept a lot of things in."

--GreGen

Black Female Unit Seeking Congressional Medal of Honor-- Part 5: Breaking Barriers and a Movie?

Still Cummings said the time overseas with the Army  left a lasting impression on the women, many of whom dismantled barriers in their personal lives.

Elizabeth Barker  Johnson was the first female to attend Winston-Salem State  University (a historically black college) under the G.I. Bill.  She took part in the school's graduation ceremony at the age of 99 --  70 years after getting her degree.

McClendon joined the Air Force after the military was integrated and retired in 1971.  She was the first female to command an all-male squadron with the Strategic Air Command.  Another unit member, the late Doris Moore, became the first black social worker in New Hampshire according to her family.

The unit's  story has also been getting more attention.  A monument was erected in 2018 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to honor them, and the 6888th was given the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2019.  A documentary "The Six Triple Eight" was made about their exploits.  There is talk of a movie.

GreGen

Black Female Unit Seeking Congressional Gold Medal-- Part 4: Minority Units Not Recognized or Appreciated

They cleared out a backlog of about 17 million pieces of mail in three months -- twice as fast as projected.  The battalion would go on to serve in France before returning home.  And, like so many black units during he war, their exploits never got the attention afforded their white counterparts.

"It is sad to say.  They came back to Jim Crow America," Colonel Edna Cummings said.  "Not only the 6888th, but a lot of our minority soldiers who returned home from the war were not recognized or appreciated until years later.  The Tuskegee Airmen, Montford Point Marines. There are so many stories of units of color who were not recognized until  decades after the war.

--GreGen

Black Female Unit Seeking Congressional Gold Medal-- Part 3: 'No Mail, Low Morale'

The mountain of mail had piled up and the troops were complaining about lost letters and delayed care packages.  Thus their motto, "No Mail, Low Morale."

"They kept  hollering about wanting us  to go overseas so I guess they found something for us to do overseas:  Take care of the mail," Major Fannie Griffin McClendon said.  "And, there was an awful loy of mail.  ...They expected we were gonna be there about two to three months trying to get it straightened out.  Well, I think in about a month, in a month and a half, we  had it all straightened out and going in the right direction."

The 6888th toiled  around the clock, processing  about 65,000 pieces of mail in each of the three shifts.  They created a system using locator cards with a service member's name and unit number to ensure mail was delivered.  Sometimes they had to resort to detective work when a parcel only had a common name or a service member's nickname.

Despite their achievements, the unit endured questions and criticism from people who did not support black women in the military.

Housing, mess halls and recreation facilities were segregated by race and sex, forcing them to set up all their own operations.  The unit commander, Major Charity Adams, was also criticized by a general who threatened  to give her command to a white officer.  She reportedly responded:  "Over my dead body, sir."

--GreGen

Black Female WW II Unit Hoping for Congressional Gold Medal-- Part 2: To get the Mail Delivered

Major Fannie Griffin McClendon said:  "I just wish there were more people  to, if it comes through, there were more people to celebrate it."

The 6888th was sent overseas in1945, partly as a result or black organizations to include black women in the Women's Army  Corps and to allow them to join their white counterparts overseas.

"I think the 6888th, the command inherently knew that their presence overseas meant more than clearing the mail backlog," said Retired Army  Colonel Edna  Cummings, who was not a member of the 6888th but has been advocating for greater recognition for them.  "They were representing  opportunity  for their sisters in arms back in the  United States who were having a hard time dealing with the racism and sexism  within the ranks.

The unit dodges German U-boats on their way  to England and scramble to  escape a German rocket once they reached Glasgow.

They were deployed to unheated, rat-infested  airplane hangers in Birmingham, England, and given a daunting mission:  Process the millions of pieces of undelivered mail for troops, government people and Red Cross workers.

--GreGen

Black Female World War II Unit Hoping to Get Congressional Gold Medal

From the July 13, 2021, Daily Press "Black female World War II unit hoping to get Congressional honor" by Michael Casey, AP.

Major Fannie Griffin McClendon and her Army colleagues never dwelled on  being the only black  battalion of women to serve in Europe.  They had a job to do.

The 6888th  Central Postal  Directory Battalion was credited with solving a growing postal crisis during its stint in England, and, on their return, serving as an example to generations of black women who joined the military.

But for decades, the exploits of the group's 855 members received next to nothing as far as recognition, that is, until now.

The Senate passed legislation that would award members of the battalion, affectionately known as the Six Triple Eight, with the Congressional Gold Medal.

The bill is awaiting action in the House, but it is already too late for most of the 6888's members.  There are only believed to be seven still alive, including McClendon.

"Well, it would be nice, but it never occurred  to me that we would even qualify for it," McClendon said from her home in Arizona.

An Overdue Honor.  --GreGen