Today’s post is by Rachael Salyer, Subject Matter Expert for Modern Military Records at the National Archives in College Park, MD.
In early 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion became the only Women’s Army Corps (WAC) unit comprised of women of color to serve overseas during the war. Led by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Charity Adams, the women of the 6888th were responsible for redirecting mail to more than seven million U.S. personnel in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). The 6888th was first stationed in Birmingham, England before moving to Rouen, France, and they maintained updated information cards on each person in the ETO, which often required multiple updates each month. According to the U.S. Army publication The Women’s Army Corps, there was an incredible amount of undelivered mail and parcels waiting for the 6888th in warehouses in Birmingham. The women worked three eight-hour shifts for seven days a week to clear out the backlog, with each shift averaging around 65,000 pieces of mail.
A digitized guide to Federal Records of World War II, which is available online in the National Archives Catalog, notes that postal units were one of the three main categories of troop units that performed Adjutant General (AG) functions in the field. The postal units included Base Post Offices and Postal Regulating Sections. Additionally, “Army Postal Units [APs/APUs] furnished postal service and maintained a directory service for the units served; these units usually had numbers corresponding to those of the Army Post Offices.”
Unfortunately, the series World War II Operations Reports, 1940–1948 (entry NM-3 427) in Record Group 407: Records of the Adjutant General’s Office and the series Unit Histories, 1943–1967 (entry UD 37042) in Record Group 338: Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) do not include records for the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Since these are the two primary series of U.S. Army unit records in the custody of the Textual Reference Branch at the National Archives in College Park (Archives II), researchers will likely need to explore a variety of other potentially relevant resources to learn more about the 6888th. For example, the series Processing Work Sheets, 1946–1948 (entry UD 1427-B) for the Army’s Departmental Records Branch in Record Group 407 includes brief records for the Headquarters (HQ), HQ Detachment, and Companies A, B, C, and D of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion filed under Army Postal (AP) 6888 (see image 2 above).
Although the Processing Work Sheets do not include extensive information about the unit, they do provide dates of organization and inactivation, as well as a few details about where the unit was stationed. These records indicate that the 6888th was officially organized on March 4, 1945, per Organizational Order #147 of HQ, Communications Zone (Com-Z), ETO.
Another potential source of information about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion would be the Morning Reports, ca. 1912–1946 for Army units that are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis. Some of these records have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog, and researchers may also email stl.archives@nara.gov for assistance with any non-digitized morning reports.
Next, since the 6888th was a WAC unit, it may also be useful to review series like Records Relating to the Legislation and Administration of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women’s Army Corps, 1942–1949 (entry NM-84 55) in Record Group 165: Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs. These records were created by the Office of the Director of the Women’s Army Corps and its predecessors. In particular, box 211 of this series contains a file related specifically to African American WACs, and among these records are lists of Black women who attended Officer Candidate (OC) training and/or who received promotions. These records indicate that Charity Adams, who went on to lead the 6888th, was one of 40 Black women to participate in the very first Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs, later WACs) OC training course in July 1942 (see image 4). On January 4, 1943, she was promoted to First Officer (see image 5). These non-digitized records are in the custody of the Textual Reference Branch at Archives II.
Although not specific to the 6888th, this series also provides insight into the lives of the African American women who volunteered for the WACs, particularly those who applied to be officers. A press release related to the first officer candidates, for example, states that “seventy-seven percent of the successful applicants have college backgrounds” from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), as well as from numerous other schools across the country (see image 6). Information can also be found about the types of positions that the enlisted women of various classes or grades were trained for, such as medical, clerical, transportation, cooking, sewing, laundry, and sales positions (see image 7).
More information about specific WAC training courses can be found in series like Correspondence, Histories, Reports, and Studies Relating to the Training of the Women’s Army Corps, 1943–1945 (entry NM-25 156) in Record Group 160: Records of Headquarters Army Service Forces. This series includes information on training in various specialty areas, as well as records like an unpublished manuscript entitled “Manners for Military Women.” These non-digitized records are also in the custody of the Textual Reference Branch at Archives II.
Entry NM-84 55 in Record Group 165 also documents the discrimination and segregation that women of color faced when they joined the WACs. In this Christmastime letter to President Roosevelt, a woman named Lenora G. Robinson notes: “I am told that because of my pigmentation, I shall now be subjected to new experiences both embarrassing and demoralizing. I hear that when I arrive at my post, I shall be discriminated against, that I shall be segregated in barracks, service clubs, and recreation facilities” (see image 8). Another example is the accusation of discrimination against an officer training applicant named Mrs. Leolis Lynch. Walter White, the director of the NAACP, wrote on her behalf to the director of the WAAC that “[w]e sincerely trust that the WAAC will smash old patterns not only that 13 million American Negroes will believe that they are actually for democracy but also to demonstrate that truth to all the people of America and of the world” (see image 9).
In addition to searching for records related more broadly to the Women’s Army Corps, researchers may also wish to review records for the Army’s Communications Zone, European Theater of Operations (Com-Z). The series Progress Reports, March 15, 1945–June 26, 1945 (entry UD 1265) in Record Group 498: Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, United States Army (World War II) was created by that Communications Zone, ETO, and it includes data about correspondence and parcels received in the European Theater. While the Progress Reports do not specifically mention the 6888th, the data included about the volume of processed mail does in some ways document the tremendous efforts to support the war effort and boost morale (see images 10 and 11).
Beyond this, researchers who want to learn more about individual women who served in the WAAC/WAC should review the NARA web page Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests. We also recommend that they use the World War II Army Enlistment Records database on NARA’s Access to Archival Databases (AAD) website to search for specific individuals. While not comprehensive, the Enlistment Records do include files on numerous Black women, like Charity Adams (A-500001), who volunteered to serve their country during World War II.
Each piece of the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion that is uncovered helps shine a light on the incredible service of the women who were part of it.
For more information, please see American Women and the U.S. Armed Forces: A Guide to the Records of Military Agencies in the National Archives Relating to American Women and Records Information Paper 105: Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans from the Post-World War I Period to the Korean War.
Finally, please contact the Textual Reference Branch at Archives II via email at archives2reference@nara.gov with questions about the records listed above that are in their custody. Questions about the photographs may be directed to the Still Pictures Reference Branch at Archives II at stillpix@nara.gov.
*All photographs are from the series Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918–ca. 1981. Department of Defense. Defense Audiovisual Agency. Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
**From the series Processing Work Sheets, 1946–1948. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. The Adjutant General’s Office. Administrative Services Division. Departmental Records Branch. Historical Records Section. Record Group 407: Records of the Adjutant General’s Office. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
***From the series Records Relating to the Legislation and Administration of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women’s Army Corps, 1942–1949. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief of Staff. Office of the Director of the Women’s Army Corps. Record Group 165: Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
****From the series Progress Reports, March 15, 1945–June 26, 1945. War Department. European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army. Communications Zone, European Theater of Operations. Record Group 498: Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, United States Army (World War II). National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.