1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. Just a couple of weeks ago, on 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,039 Speaker 1: March fourteenth, President Joe Biden signed the six Triple eight 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Congressional Gold Medal Act of into law. This act provides 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: for the Congressional Gold Medal to be awarded to the 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: six Triple eight Central Postal Directory Battalion. We covered the 6 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: six Triple eight on the show on March, so we 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: are bringing that out as today's Saturday Classic. Also, similar 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 1: acts were signed into law for the Ghost Army in 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: February of this year and for the Harlem Hell Fighters 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: in August of last year. We have episodes on both 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: of those as well, although they have each already had 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: a turn as a Saturday Classic, So enjoy. Welcome to 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of I 14 00:00:52,440 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracey V. 15 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. Today we have a listener request. 16 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: It is from Aaron who asked on Twitter about the 17 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: six thousand, eight hundred eighty eight Central Postal Directory Battalion, 18 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: also known as the six Triple eight that was part 19 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: of the Women's Army Corps during World War Two and 20 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: at first I thought we've told some stories that feel 21 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: similar to this one. We have talked about the Women's 22 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: Air Force Service pilots and the women accepted for volunteer 23 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: service from the United States, and we've talked about the 24 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: first Russian women's battalion of death in the Soviet Night Witches, 25 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: and these have had some really common themes. They've been 26 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: really focused on the twentieth century during wartime and needing 27 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,400 Speaker 1: to recruit some women so that more men could go 28 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: into combat, and militaries really reluctantly or begrudgingly allowing these 29 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: women as new recruits. Usually the women in question have 30 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: faced a lot of discrimination and just outright hostility from 31 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: their male years and their commanding officers, along with lots 32 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: of questions about their character, both from the military and 33 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: civilians alike. But even though it shares a lot of 34 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: those same themes, the six Triple Eight story is also 35 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: really different. It has a lot of elements that we 36 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: haven't really covered before. Although there were black American nurses 37 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: in Europe as well during World War Two, the six 38 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: Triple Eight was the only battalion of black women from 39 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: the US to serve in Europe during the war, and 40 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: their work really illustrates how huge parts of wartime military 41 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: service aren't directly connected to combat at all. In this case, 42 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: it was making sure American personnel in Europe could get 43 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: their mail. So today we're really going to focus on 44 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: the parts of the story that we haven't talked as 45 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: much about before. We're going to talk about why the U. S. 46 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: Army needed an entire battalion to deal with a mail backlog, 47 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: and we're going to talk about how the six Triple 48 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: eight did it. So delivering mail from the United States 49 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: to a soldier deployed in Europe during World War Two 50 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: is a long, multi step process that involved both the 51 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: US Postal Service and the Army postal system. So let's 52 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: say Mary wanted to send a care package to her 53 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: brother Henry. She would box it up and address it 54 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: using his name, serial number, and unit, along with the 55 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: Army Post Office or APO assigned to it, and she 56 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: would send it care of a US postmaster. Mail bound 57 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: for Europe was usually sent care of the postmaster in 58 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: New York, New York, since that was its embarkation point. 59 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: Then mail has continued to work basically that way for 60 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: a really long time. Yeah, I have I have sent 61 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: packages to family. Um as people know, I grew up 62 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: in a military family and friends as an adult, and 63 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: similarly there is a very very parallel situation going on. Still, yeah, yeah, 64 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: it's there's usually still the military tends to know basically 65 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: where people are their families, a lot of times don't, 66 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: so it's usually still this process of an A p 67 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: O sending it in care of a particular olor place 68 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: in New York. Mary's package would be sorted at a 69 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: USPS concentration center and then that would be handed off 70 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: to the Army and it would travel to Europe by sea, 71 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: because carrying civilian packages by air was just way too 72 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: expensive and that cargo space was a lot more needed 73 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: for the war effort. Letters, on the other hand, could 74 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,239 Speaker 1: go by air thanks to a thing called v mail 75 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: that was introduced. In v mail let people write letters 76 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: on special paper and then those would be transferred onto 77 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: microfilm for transport overseas by air, and then the letters 78 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: would be printed out again on the other side of 79 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: the journey. So once in Europe, Mary's theoretical package would 80 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: move through the Army postal system until reaching the a 81 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: p O on the address label, and then a mail 82 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: clerk was responsible for getting the mail from the APO 83 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: to the soldier. The APO was usually at the unit's headquarters, 84 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 1: so if Henry was on duty somewhere miles away from headquarters, 85 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: Mary's package should he'll get to him. And within the 86 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: Army's postal system, each person had an address card that 87 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: was kept on file at the Directory Service, so if 88 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: a person moved, they were responsible for filling out and 89 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: submitting a change of address. Often, if a unit was 90 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: moving repeatedly, somebody within that unit was responsible for submitting 91 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: everyone's changes. When mail arrived in Europe from the US, 92 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: the postal division would try to deliver it as addressed, 93 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: but if the address was wrong for whatever reason, the 94 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: parcel went to the Directory Service, and the directory Service 95 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: had an address card on file for each person, which 96 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: was supposed to be updated any time that person moved. 97 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 1: The Directory Service would use these cards to try to 98 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: track down the recipient. During the search, each person who 99 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: handled the piece of mail initialed it and dated it, 100 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: and if no one had been able to deliver it 101 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: after thirty days, it was returned to sender. So the 102 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: fact that any of this worked at all seems almost 103 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: miraculous to me. Even during peacetime, there was just a 104 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: lot that could go wrong in a system like this, 105 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: and during a war there was even more potential for 106 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: packages to become undeliverable or for the address cards at 107 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: the directory service to be out of date. Plus the 108 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: scale of this entire operation was huge. In nineteen forty one, 109 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: there were just a few thousand American service members in Europe, 110 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: but by nineteen forty five there were an estimated seven 111 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: million Americans in the European theater of operations has included 112 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: members of the military along with civilian specialists, nurses, Red 113 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: Cross volunteers, elected officials, conducting tours and inspections. It just 114 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: went on and on. The Army was handling most of 115 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: this male. To make things more complicated, when you have 116 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: that many people, a lot of them are going to 117 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: have the same name. Just as one example, more than 118 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: seven thousand Americans in the European theater were named Robert Smiths, 119 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: having nothing to do with the cure. And of those 120 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,720 Speaker 1: Robert Smiths, some might be known to loved ones as 121 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: Bob or Bobby or Robbie or Bert or some other 122 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: nick name, and their mail might be addressed with that 123 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: nickname instead of to Robert. It also occurs to me 124 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: that I am related to a person whose name is 125 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: actually Bobby, and if someone tried to backwards engineer it 126 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: to Robert, he would never get his mail. That would 127 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: be wrong. So loved ones back home also weren't always 128 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: meticulous about addressing their packages are hypothetical. Mary was, but 129 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: it really wasn't unheard of for mail to be addressed 130 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: along the lines of Junior U S. Army. So it 131 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: wasn't always just about figuring out where this Robert Smith 132 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: was stationed now after his package came back to the 133 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: Directory Services undeliverable, it was also about figuring out which 134 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: Robert Smith we were even talking about, or figuring out 135 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: who in the world this Junior might be and where 136 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: Junior's mail should go. The Directory Services records included service 137 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: members serial numbers to help keep them all straight, but 138 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: there could still be a lot of duplicate names to 139 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: have to go through. In spite of all of these challenges, 140 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: in the early years the United States involvement in the war, 141 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: the mail had continued to get through in Europe most 142 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: of the time. It might take a while, but people 143 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: were still getting their letters and packages from home eventually, 144 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: but soon this system was becoming overloaded. To try to 145 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: reduce the volume of mail, the Postmaster General ordered in 146 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three that packages could only be sent to 147 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: a p O S in response to a soldiers specific request. Yeah, 148 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: it's not clear how much this was really enforced or 149 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 1: even enforceable, but sometimes people would send their package like 150 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: with the letter they had gotten saying please send me 151 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: some new underwear in there as sort of assurance that 152 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: this really was requested. Regardless though I mean that it 153 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: didn't do enough to cut down on the volume of 154 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,359 Speaker 1: mail that needed to be handled. And then, in preparation 155 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: for the D Day invasion of June six, the number 156 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 1: of US troops in Europe started growing dramatically, and these 157 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: troops and their mail were just moving around a lot 158 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: more in a region that was increasingly chaotic and dangerous. 159 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: By late nine, the situation was critical. The Battle of 160 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: the Bulge started on December sixteenth of that year and 161 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: lasted for more than a month, and just during that battle, 162 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: six airplane hangars full of mail were returned from the 163 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: European continent to England as undeliverable. These packages were sent 164 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: all the way back to North America, they just waited 165 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: in a warehouse, and because of the timing, a lot 166 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: of those returned packages were Christmas presents. All those packages 167 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: became part of a huge backlog of undelivered mail just 168 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: sitting in warehouses in England. Eventually there were packages in 169 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: this backlog that had been lingering for more than two years. 170 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: On top of the overall shortage in labor for mail delivery, 171 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: the military had been putting a lot more focus on 172 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: moving things like food and more material, which did seem 173 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: more critical than personal mail. But as this backlog of 174 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: undelivered mail grew and grew, it became clear that personal 175 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 1: mail was also critical. Naturally, people wanted to hear from 176 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: their loved ones, people eagerly or anxiously awaited news about 177 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: the births of children, or a loved one surgery, or 178 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: all kinds of other events in the lives of the 179 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: people that they missed back home. On top of that, 180 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: most of the troops serving in Europe had been drafted, 181 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: and many of them were as young as eighteen or 182 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: nineteen years old. Some of them had never left their 183 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: home state or been separated from their families for such 184 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: a length of time, so a lot of them had 185 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: even more reason to be homesick and just in need 186 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: of contact with people from whom. In other words, these 187 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: people genuinely needed their mail. When the mail slowed down 188 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: or stopped, the troops morale suffered, and that drop had 189 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:55,439 Speaker 1: the potential to reduce their overall effectiveness. In late ninety four, 190 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: the U. S. Army decided to handle this backlog of 191 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: mail by creating a special battalion devoted specifically to addressing it. 192 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:13,119 Speaker 1: And we will get to them after a sponsor break. 193 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: As we said at the top of the show. The 194 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: six Triple eight was part of the Women's Army Corps, 195 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: and the Women's Army Corps was initially created in ninety 196 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 1: two as the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. It was established 197 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 1: quote for the purpose of making available to the national 198 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: defense the knowledge, skill and special training of women of 199 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: the nation. Its first director was Ovita cult Hobby. The 200 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: Auxiliary Corps was a non combat voluntary core. It had 201 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: its own training center with its own officer candidate school, 202 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: where officer candidates of different races all trained together once 203 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: they were through training. Though the individual units were racheally segregated, 204 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:56,239 Speaker 1: there were also individual recruiters who refused to take applications 205 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: from black women, either because of their own racism or 206 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: be as they mistakenly believed that black women weren't allowed. 207 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,839 Speaker 1: As its name suggests, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps wasn't 208 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: considered to be fully part of the U. S. Army. 209 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,959 Speaker 1: At first, women only worked state side. They were mainly 210 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 1: doing clerical and food service work, along with driving and 211 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: operating radios and switchboards. They also did some medical work, 212 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: although the Army Nurse Corps was a whole separate entity. 213 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: Being an auxiliary unit also meant that the women weren't 214 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: eligible for overseas pay or government issued life insurance, so 215 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 1: when some of them were sent to North Africa in 216 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,719 Speaker 1: late nineteen two, it was without the corresponding increase in 217 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: their pay and without that insurance. That changed when the 218 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: Women's Army Auxiliary Corps became the Women's Army Corps or WHACK, 219 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: which was formerly part of the U. S. Army. President 220 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 1: Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the legislation to make this change. 221 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:57,319 Speaker 1: On July one, the WHACK gained official military status, including 222 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: being eligible for insurance and overseas pay. The Women's Army 223 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: Corps went on to recruit women from every US state 224 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: and from American territories, including Puerto Rico. Later on, several 225 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: NISSA women joined the Whack as well. And you can 226 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: learn more about the complicated history of niss A service 227 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: in the U. S. Armed Forces during World War Two 228 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: in our episodes on Executive Order nineties sixty six and 229 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: in the one specifically on NISSA in World War Two. 230 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: Starting with that first deployment to North Africa in ninety two, 231 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: the women sent overseas through the Auxiliary Corps or the 232 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: WAX had all been white, but the War Department had 233 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: also briefly issued a request to send black women overseas 234 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty two as well. However, that request was 235 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: really contentious because part of it was that these women 236 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 1: would quote provide companionship for thousands of Negro troops. The 237 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:54,319 Speaker 1: Auxiliary Corps leadership was appalled and angry at this suggestion, 238 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: which was on its own offensive. On top of that, 239 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: they'd had to continually push back against perceptions that there 240 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: was something morally questionable about these women and their service. 241 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: Suggesting that the military wanted to send black women overseas 242 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:15,959 Speaker 1: as companions just reinforce those perceptions. Ovida, called Pobby, refused 243 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: to allow it, and the War Department walked back its 244 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: request and stated that black women would be sent overseas 245 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: only if their presence was deemed a necessity. That led 246 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: to an ongoing campaign by civil rights activists, black journalists, 247 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: and advocates like Mary McLoud Bothoon who argued that the 248 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: black women should have the same opportunity as the white 249 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: women to serve in the roles that they had been 250 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: trained for. Yeah, when we say that they had been 251 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: having to push back against perceptions that there was something 252 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: morally questionable. These included things like false news reports about 253 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: widespread pregnancies and STD outbreaks among the whack which were 254 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: just so heavily stigmatized and made it seem like there 255 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: was something nefarious going on and like the was something 256 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: that they had actively been fighting against. And this, this 257 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: whole request reinforced that whole idea in though the War 258 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: Department finally decided that it was a necessity to send 259 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: a battalion of black women to Europe and that battalion 260 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: was going to address that whole backlog of mail. This 261 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: battalion was, of course, the six Triple eight it was 262 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: to be a self contained battalion rather than being connected 263 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: to a male unit, so it would be responsible for 264 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: everything that was needed to do the job, including things 265 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: like their own food service, their own administration, and their 266 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: own recreation. Even though the higher ups knew what this 267 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: unit's job would be, the women being recruited for it 268 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: didn't At first. All they knew was that there was 269 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: a chance to go overseas to serve, and a lot 270 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: of women were eager to have that chance. At the 271 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: same time, the overall number of black women in the 272 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: WHACK was still relatively small, and not all of them 273 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: met the criteria to go to Europe, which included passing 274 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: strict physical and psychological examinations as well as undergoing additional 275 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, so it took a dedicated 276 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: recruiting effort to fill out the six Triple Eate. It 277 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: ultimately had eight hundred twenty four enlisted personnel and thirty 278 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: one officers. In command was Major Charity Edna Adams, who 279 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: had been part of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps first 280 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: class of officers and was the first black woman to 281 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: be commissioned by the U. S Army. Adams was a 282 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: huge part of the six Triple Eight, and she's a 283 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: good example of the kinds of skills and education that 284 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: were needed for black women to be considered as black officers. 285 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: Adams was from Columbia, South Carolina. She'd been valedictorian of 286 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: her high school class and had gone on to graduate 287 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: from Wilberforce University with majors in mathematics, physics, and Latin, 288 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: along with a history miner and teacher certification. She had 289 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: gone back home to Columbia after graduation to work as 290 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: a teacher, and during the summer she took graduate courses 291 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,239 Speaker 1: at Ohio State University. Adams joined the Women's Army Auxiliary 292 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: Corps in ninety two after the Dean of a Minute 293 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: Wilberforce recommended her and she got a letter that invited 294 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: her to join. When she was chosen to command the 295 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: six Triple Eight, she already had years of experience as 296 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 1: an officer working at the Whack Training Center in Fort 297 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: du Boine, Iowa. She joined the rest of the battalion 298 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: for training at Fort Oglethorpe, which included classroom training, drilling, 299 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: obstacle courses, evacuation drills, gas mask drills and the like, 300 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: but even as they were training, they still didn't know 301 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:31,360 Speaker 1: what they were being sent to Europe to do. Adams 302 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: and her executive officer finally learned what their role would 303 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: be after going to England ahead of the rest of 304 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:40,879 Speaker 1: the battalion in early nineteen The two of them flew 305 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: over the Atlantic and the first group of enlisted women 306 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: and officers followed by sea aboard the Le de France. 307 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: The Le de France departed from New York on February third, 308 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,919 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, and route to Glasgow, Scotland, evading German 309 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: U boats along the way, and then from there the 310 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: women traveled by train to Birmingham, England, where they arrived 311 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,679 Speaker 1: on February. The day after their arrival, they held a 312 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: parade for Lieutenant General John C. H Lee, who was 313 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,359 Speaker 1: the Deputy Commander of the European Theater of Operations. The 314 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: rest of the six Triple Eate arrived about fifty days 315 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,480 Speaker 1: after this first group did. In Birmingham, the Six Triple Eates, 316 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: enlisted personnel were housed at King Edward's School, and officers 317 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: were in a couple of houses. They managed their own 318 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,199 Speaker 1: mess hall and recreational facilities and their own beauty salon, 319 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: but setting up a beauty shop with something of a challenge, 320 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,160 Speaker 1: especially when it came to getting gas and electrical connections 321 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,199 Speaker 1: in proximity to the salon chairs that Adams requisitions. In 322 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: her memoir, Adams wrote quote, it is perhaps wiser not 323 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: to detail the extent of our ingenuity. That beauty salon 324 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,479 Speaker 1: might seem like a luxury, but was. It was really 325 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: a necessity, and not just because the women had to 326 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 1: meet military grooming standards. It was also to keep up 327 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: their own morale because, as it turned out, working through 328 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: this backlog of mail it was was a really difficult job. 329 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:11,919 Speaker 1: And we will get to why after a sponsor break. 330 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 1: The six Triplate got to work in a warehouse in Birmingham, England, 331 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: in February, and the temperatures there tended to be in 332 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: the thirties to forties fahrenheit, which is in the single 333 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: digits celsius. The warehouses they were working in we're not 334 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: well heated. So the women went to work every day 335 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: and as many layers as they could manage, but they 336 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:37,640 Speaker 1: were still cold. This sounds utterly miserable to me. Yeah, 337 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 1: the warehouse also was not well lit. Under normal conditions, 338 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,199 Speaker 1: it's lighting would have been supplemented during the day by 339 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 1: natural light from the windows, but those had to be 340 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: covered over because of air raids. Plus, the six trip 341 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 1: l eight worked three eight hour shifts a day, seven 342 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: days a week, so some of the women were in 343 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:56,960 Speaker 1: the warehouse sorting mail in the middle of the night 344 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 1: when there is no daylight to help anyway. We mentioned 345 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,439 Speaker 1: early year that the backlogged mail included a lot of 346 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: Christmas parcels and some items that had been lingering in 347 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: the mail system for years. Some of these packages contained 348 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 1: perishable foods which had spoiled, and even when what was 349 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: inside was not spoiled, mice and rats and other vermin 350 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 1: had really invested a lot of these packages as well, 351 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: and even in the best circumstances, overseas shipping can be 352 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: hard on packages. The six Triple eight was often piecing 353 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: to other packages that had physically disintegrated after getting wet 354 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: or otherwise being damaged, or just simply being sent from 355 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 1: North America and then around Europe without a sturdy enough container. 356 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: These women got really good at figuring out which random 357 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: items came out of the same broken package, using clues 358 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 1: like fuzz from a sweater that had rubbed off on 359 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 1: multiple items, or comparing just how damp each item was. 360 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: They would reconstruct these packages as well as they could 361 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: before figuring out where the recipients were and then ending 362 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: them on. This backlog was expected to take the six 363 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: Triple eight six months to deal with, but they cleared 364 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: about sixty five thousand pieces of mail per shift, and 365 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 1: they finished what they were doing in half the expected time. 366 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,640 Speaker 1: This included resolving all of those discrepancies that we talked 367 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: about at the top of the show and getting the 368 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: mail to the right people, as well as the much 369 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,359 Speaker 1: sadder task of returning packages to the sender when the 370 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 1: person who was supposed to receive them had been killed. 371 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 1: Beyond just the task of sorting the mail, life in 372 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,160 Speaker 1: Birmingham had some challenges for the six Triple eight. Locals 373 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 1: probably would have been curious about any U S. Army 374 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: activity at the warehouse, but when it came to the 375 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,199 Speaker 1: sudden presence of more than eight hundred black women, first, 376 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 1: there was a lot of gawking. The six Triple eight 377 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: was also the largest unit in the area, so when 378 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: there was some kind of function that required an army 379 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: officer's presence, Major Adams was usually the one to go. 380 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: People were often shocked when the officer who arrived at 381 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: an official function was a black woman. The Six Triple 382 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: Eate also faced discrimination and some of the amenities that 383 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: were available to other members of the service. The American 384 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: Red Cross was running a club for enlisted personnel that 385 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: had allowed white women and men of any race, but 386 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: then decided, without really offering an explanation, that the Six 387 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,119 Speaker 1: Triple Eates enlisted members would not be admitted there. The 388 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,439 Speaker 1: Red Cross offered to establish a separate club just for 389 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,359 Speaker 1: the Six Triple Eate, but Major Atoms refused, saying that 390 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 1: she wouldn't have her battalion moving into the segregated facility. 391 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,439 Speaker 1: A similar incident followed with a Red Cross hotel in 392 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,440 Speaker 1: London for wax that the Six Triple Eight had been 393 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: allowed to use when they were there on official or 394 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: personal business. Again, without really giving much of an explanation, 395 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,920 Speaker 1: the Red Cross decided that the Six Triple Eight would 396 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,919 Speaker 1: just be quote happier somewhere else and started setting up 397 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: a separate facility. Adams again refused, and when she let 398 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,639 Speaker 1: the Six Triple Eate know that they would need to 399 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: find other accommodations and they went to London. Overall, they 400 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: backed her up on it. Yeah, she uh. When she 401 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: was talking to the Red Cross people about this, she 402 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: was like, Okay, we've been sharing this hotel. There have 403 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: been no problems. None of my people have complained. It 404 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:16,360 Speaker 1: seems like maybe some other people have complained, and if 405 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: they have, they are maybe the people that should go 406 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: to some separate facility. Anyway, none of it was a 407 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: good situation. There were also some disagreements with higher ups. 408 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 1: Even though the six Triple eight was well ahead of 409 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 1: schedule and they finished processing this big backlog and half 410 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: the expected time, they were still criticized for being inefficient, 411 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,880 Speaker 1: something that was probably more about racial bias than their 412 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:45,680 Speaker 1: actual performance. There's definitely not another explanation that's readily there 413 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,959 Speaker 1: for that. No, you performed high above exceeding all expectations. 414 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 1: So lazy, I know, I can't I mention another reason 415 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 1: for it. Major Adams in particular, also had to run 416 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: in with a general who came for an inspection. According 417 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,479 Speaker 1: to her memoir, Adams had been ordered to maintain business 418 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: as usual during that inspection, but when the general inspected 419 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: her troops, he reprimanded her for not having all of 420 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: them present. When she explained that some were sleeping and 421 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: others were working, and that she was following orders by 422 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: keeping them on their set schedule, he said that he 423 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: would bring a white first lieutenant to take command. Major 424 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: Adams's response, in the heat of the moment was over 425 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 1: my dead body, sir. This was of course not an 426 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: acceptable thing for any officer to say to their superior 427 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,679 Speaker 1: and so after the general left, Adams and some of 428 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: her officers had to put their heads together to figure 429 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: out how she might be able to defend herself and 430 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: what seemed like an inevitable court martial. The strategy they 431 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: decided on was to lean on some memos that had 432 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: advised officers that were affiliated with the U. S Military 433 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,919 Speaker 1: not to use language that emphasized racial segregation out of 434 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: the risk of alienating their allies in Europe. Adams was 435 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: prepared to make the argument that what the general said 436 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 1: had done exactly that, but then the charges against her 437 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: were dropped on the grounds that it would be too 438 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,719 Speaker 1: expensive to replace her because she was the wax highest 439 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: ranking black officer. I just want to point out, she said, 440 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,439 Speaker 1: sir at the end. So by my estimation that was 441 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 1: very polite, and in some retellings of this she said, 442 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,920 Speaker 1: Sir at both ends super polite, better than I would 443 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 1: have done. Once the Birmingham backlog was clear, the six 444 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,120 Speaker 1: Triple eight was moved to Rouen, France in the Normandy 445 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: region on June to do the same job there. Of course, 446 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: that was a month after v E Day, so a 447 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: lot of U S troops were headed back home. A 448 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,360 Speaker 1: lot of supplies were as well. The Six Triple Eates 449 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,720 Speaker 1: beds could not be found and they had to cobble 450 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: together bunk setups with boards and canvas cots. The six 451 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: Triple Eate had a lot more visitors in Ruin than 452 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: they had had back in England. A lot of troops 453 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: headed back home were being routed through the area, so 454 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: the six Plate had a steady stream of male relatives 455 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: and boyfriends and fiance's passing through, plus some servicemen who 456 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: didn't know anybody there but wanted to socialize. This ultimately 457 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: led to several weddings, either between sweethearts from back home 458 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: who were reunited after the war here or relationships that 459 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,399 Speaker 1: developed while both parties were in Europe. There were some 460 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,160 Speaker 1: downsides to all of these reunions, though so many male 461 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: visitors were coming through that Adams finally banned men from 462 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,440 Speaker 1: the facility every Monday, so the women of the six 463 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: Triple Eate had time to do things like launder and 464 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: air dry their delicates in relative privacy. Occasionally things got 465 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,399 Speaker 1: out of hand with some of the men, and the 466 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:44,160 Speaker 1: six Triple Eight asked for its MPs to be issued firearms. 467 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,360 Speaker 1: When that request was refused, they just studied jiu jitsu instead. 468 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: This wasn't the only way that life for the six 469 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: Triple Eight was different in Ruhan than it had been 470 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 1: in Birmingham. For a while, they had exceptionally good meals 471 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: because a quartermaster assumed to the a unit that had 472 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: so many women and in it had to be a hospital, 473 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: so they were being sent the hospital rations, which were 474 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 1: much nicer. Once that error was discovered and they went 475 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: back to their regular rations, they started bartering damaged goods 476 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: that came through, like cigarettes and soap with the locals 477 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 1: to increase their access to fresher foods. They also increasingly 478 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: worked with civilians and sometimes prisoners of war. As members 479 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: of the Six Triple Eight became eligible to go home, 480 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,959 Speaker 1: they had more opportunities for recreation in Rouen as well, 481 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: including participating in sports and athletic tournaments. They still didn't 482 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: have equal access because of their race, though. Several members 483 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 1: of the Six Triple Eight were selected for an Army 484 00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: All Star team, but their invitations were rescinded when the 485 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: organizers realized they were black. The battalion's basketball team was 486 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: also denied boarding a train for a basketball tournament, at 487 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 1: which point Lieutenant General Lee had the train held until 488 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 1: his personal first class car could be connected for them 489 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: to use, and they held another parade in Rulan. This 490 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: one honored Joan of Arc and passed through the square 491 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: where she had been burned at the stake. It was 492 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:11,359 Speaker 1: in Ruin that the Six Triple Eight had its biggest tragedy. 493 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: Three women were in a GP accident on July n 494 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 1: Private Mary Jay Barlow and Private Mary H. Bankston were killed, 495 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,399 Speaker 1: and Sergeant Dolores M. Brown died five days later as 496 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,400 Speaker 1: a result of her injuries. Major Adams notified their families 497 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 1: and women of the Six Triple Eight, who had mortuary experience, 498 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: prepared their bodies for burial. They held two services. Since 499 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: two of the women had been Protestant and the other 500 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: was Catholic. All three were buried at Normandy American Cemetery 501 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: in Ruan. Once again, the six Triple Eight dealt with 502 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 1: another projected six month mail backlog and half the estimated time, 503 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: and then after that the remaining women were sent to 504 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: Paris to deal with one last backlog. They arrived there 505 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,560 Speaker 1: in October of nineteen forty five. This time they were 506 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 1: housed in hotels where they had housekeeping and meal service. 507 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: By this point, about three hundred members of the Six 508 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: Triplate had gone home and two hundred more were eligible 509 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: to so. Even though there were far fewer Americans in Europe, 510 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,239 Speaker 1: for the people who were still there, their workloads were 511 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: actually higher. Another issue in these last months of their 512 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: assignment was theft of the mail that they were trying 513 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: to sort. Many of the people living in the area 514 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,040 Speaker 1: where they were working had faced all kinds of shortages 515 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: during the war, and they still didn't have basic necessities, 516 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: so the remaining members of the Six Triple Eight had 517 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,719 Speaker 1: to add tracking down Pilford packages to their duties. In 518 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 1: February of six, with the war over and the backlogs handled, 519 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 1: the six Triple Eate was disbanded and any members who 520 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: were still in Europe were sent home. Before departing for home, 521 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: Adams also ran into that general who had tried to 522 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: court martial her over telling him over my dead body 523 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: back in Birmingham. According to Adam's memoir, that actually crossed 524 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 1: paths a couple of times since then, and on his 525 00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 1: way to the back to the United States, he told 526 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: that she had outsmarted him and that he was proud 527 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: to know her, and also that he wouldn't be telling 528 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,719 Speaker 1: her any of this if he thought he would ever 529 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: see her again. Adams was the most senior female officer 530 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 1: on the troop transport ship that she took back to 531 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: the US, which meant that she was in command of 532 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: all of the women on board. A group of white 533 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,720 Speaker 1: nurses objected to this, saying that they had their own 534 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,800 Speaker 1: white major, who they argued should be in charge. Adams 535 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 1: explained to them that she would not be leaving the ship, 536 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: but that if it was so important to them to 537 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: be under the command of a white officer, they were 538 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: welcome to disembark and go home. Later, they elected not 539 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,520 Speaker 1: to do so. After the war, many of the six 540 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: Triple Eight used the g I Bill to go to 541 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 1: college or graduate school, and this included Major Adams, who 542 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,680 Speaker 1: was promoted to lieutenant colonel before leaving the service. That 543 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: was the highest rank that it was possible for her 544 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: to attain in the Women's Army Corps. She also got 545 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: married on August, becoming Charity Edna Adams. Early during their 546 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: time in Europe, the six Triple Eight had broken records 547 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,600 Speaker 1: for processing mail in spite of the early criticisms of 548 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: their alleged inefficiency. In the end, they were highly praised 549 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,600 Speaker 1: for their work, but they returned home with no recognition 550 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,160 Speaker 1: or fanfare. That didn't really start to change until one 551 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 1: when several members went back to Birmingham, England to be recognized. 552 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,120 Speaker 1: A memorial was held at Arlington National Cemetery in February 553 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: of two thousand nine, but by then the organizers were 554 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,880 Speaker 1: only able to contact three surviving members to attend. In 555 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: March of the U. S. Army Women's Foundation inducted the 556 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 1: six Triple Eight into its Hall of Fame, and in 557 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 1: the U. S. Senate passed Resolution four twelve quote expressing 558 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: the Sense of the Senate regarding the six thousand eight 559 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: Central Postal Directory Battalion and celebrating Black History Month. It 560 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 1: was introduced in February and pass in October. On November 561 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 1: of that year, the six thousand eight Central Postal Directory 562 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: Battalion Monument at the Buffalo Soldier Monument Park at Fort Leavenworth, 563 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 1: Kansas was dedicated Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams. Early died on 564 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 1: January two thousand two at the age of eighties three. 565 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 1: Before her death, she wrote a memoir called One Woman's Army, 566 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:17,880 Speaker 1: and it has a lot more detail about the Women's 567 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women's Army Corps in general, 568 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 1: and the six Triple eight specifically, and it is well 569 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,000 Speaker 1: worth checking out. In this memoir, she wrote quote, I 570 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,720 Speaker 1: was very proud of the six Triple Eight. My personal 571 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: pride was because I was the commanding officer of this 572 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 1: terrific outfit. There were many women in the Corps who 573 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: could have been the CEO, but I was the fortunate 574 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 1: one to hold the position. My feeling of personal achievement 575 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: was only a minute part of my pride in the unit. 576 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: The women of the six Triple Eight had ventured into 577 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: a service area where they were not really wanted. They 578 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 1: had assumed jobs that had normally been assigned to men. 579 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,959 Speaker 1: They had been and were performing in a valiant and 580 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:01,000 Speaker 1: praiseworthy manner. They had survived racial prejudice and discrimination with dignity. 581 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 1: I really love them. Yeah, it's such a great story. 582 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: Hey so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since 583 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: this episode is out of the archive, if you heard 584 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: an email address or Facebook U r L or something 585 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: similar over the course of the show, that could be 586 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:25,480 Speaker 1: obsolete now. Our current email address is History Podcast at 587 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: i heart radio dot com. Our old how Stuff Works 588 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,080 Speaker 1: email address no longer works, and you can find us 589 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: all over social media at missed in History. 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