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Service Honored
Members of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion —
the only battalion of black women to travel overseas during
World War II — are recognized for their service to the U.S.
A
World War II black women’s black woman to receive a
Army unit really delivered: commission. The admission
They boosted troop morale of black women to the ser-
by making sure mail reached soldiers. vice had been championed
Members of the 6888th Central Postal by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Directory Battalion were honored for Three members of the unit
their service Feb. 25 with a ceremony as well as military offi cials,
at the Women in Military Service for veterans, friends, and family
America Memorial at Arlington National attended the ceremony.
Cemetery, Va.
The women played a signifi cant role in Monument to Chesty
maintaining troop morale during World
War II, and they were the only battalion
of black women to go overseas. M
ore than three
decades after his
death, a monument
The unit of more than 850 black Wom- is being built for Lt. Gen.
en’s Army Corps members was formed Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller
during World War II to clear the back- to commemorate his 37
log of mail heading to soldiers overseas. years of service to the Ma-
The women underwent basic training in rine Corps. After completion, which Mary Ragland,
Georgia and then boarded a ship to Eu- will take about one year, the monument a member of the
rope. Known as the Six Triple Eight, the to Puller will be placed in the Semper 6888th Central Postal
unit worked around the clock to fi nish Fidelis Memorial Park in Triangle, Va., Directory Battalion,
the job — which was expected to take six next to the National Museum of the receives the Army’s
months — in half that time. After handling Marine Corps. Freedom Team Salute
7 million pieces of mail at a base in Bir- The design for the statue depicts Pull- Commendation.
mingham, England, they then were sent er standing beside a Marine carrying a
to Rouen, France, for a similar job. radio and a rifl e. The uniform Puller
The battalion was commanded by is wearing places him in either World
Maj. Charity Adams Earley, who joined War II or the Korean War, the two con-
the Army in 1942 and became the fi rst fl icts he served in with distinction. The
Seagoing Marine Association is funding
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
the project.
a73 On May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusita-
Puller is one of the most recognized and
nia was sunk by German submarines in the Atlan-
decorated fi gures in Marine Corps history,
tic Ocean during World War I. The sinking of the
having earned fi ve Navy Crosses, two Le-
passenger ship helped turn American sympathies
toward the Allies and away from Germany.
gion of Merit medals, the Bronze Star, and a
Presidential Unit Citation, among others. MO
PHOTO: U.S. ARMY/FREEDOM TEAM SALUTE M AY 2 0 0 9 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 6 7
MMay_history.indd Sec1:
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