Honoring Women of Color Who Lifted Spirits During World War II

February 1945. After four years of fighting, American forces in Europe were making their final push into Germany. Those in command knew the war-weary soldiers needed more than weapons and supplies to finish the mission. They needed letters from home – reminders of what and who they were fighting for. At this critical time, the mail had stopped, and morale was low.  

“No mail, low morale, that was part of it. And they did the job, yeah, did the job,” said Sheree Robertson.

Enter The 6888th Central Postal Battalion. Nicknamed the “Six-Triple Eight,” the all-female unit was 855 strong, with only two exceptions, a Puerto Rican and a Mexican – all were African American. 

Ninety-eight-year-old Anna Robertson is one of the six surviving members. Although unable to share her story today, has shared much with her family and daughter, Sheree.

“My mother would often say that she went over to help out and do her part because the men were fighting in the front line, and that she and the other women in her battalion could do things behind the scenes, but they were all a part of the victory.”

Odessa Marshall, who died in 2017, was also one of them. Her sons, James and Jeri Marshall say their mom – like most - had her reasons for joining the army. 

“When you're living in the Jim Crow south, and my mother was from Tennessee, and you're faced with segregation, sexism, racism, classism, and then someone comes along and offers you the opportunity to be educated, to be trained technically, and to travel. And that's what the military was offering her,” said Jeri. “So, for her, it was an opportunity to leave the situations that she was in at home.”

The battalion arrived in Glasgow, Scotland on February 14, 1945, and took a train to London. There to greet them… the woman who’d one day become the Queen of England.

Jeri Marshall said, “My mom showed me a picture one time that when she got off the ship, she said, 'This, this white woman was shaking my hand and I didn't know who she was. But it was Elizabeth, who was princess, that shook the hands of the colored troops that were coming over.”

Under the command of Major Charity Adams – the first black female in U.S. Army history to become a commissioned officer, the battalion was taken to unheated, rat-infested warehouses stacked to the ceiling with undelivered letters and packages, many containing spoiled food. The mission – get every piece of mail processed and delivered.  

Sheree Robertson said, “She said the windows were blackened because they didn’t want the Germans to find out where they were. And, they had to sleep with their heavy coats and boots on because they had no heat and no electricity.”

Working eight-hour, rotating shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Six Triple Eight developed a system to get every piece of mail to millions of soldiers serving throughout Europe. 

Son of Odessa Marshall, James said, “Well, she talked about the task being enormous.”

Although inspired by their motto, “No mail, Low morale,” there were times they had to reach for something more.

“It was their faith and trust in our Lord Savior Jesus Christ that got them through that and look at her today, almost 99 years old and it’s her faith,” said Sheree Robertson, daughter of Anna Robertson.

The task was supposed to take six months. The Six Triple Eight did it in three. It’s estimated the unit processed over 17 million letters and packages. About the same time, the war in Europe ended with Germany’s surrender on May 8th, 1945. A month later, the battalion was transferred to France to clear out the backlog of mail there – again, in half the time expected. To these women, they were just proud to serve their country.

“She said she was just doing her duty. So it was nothing to really glorify,” said Jeri Marshall, son of Odessa Marshall.

Once stateside, the Six-Triple Eight was disbanded. Charity Adams would was promoted to lieutenant colonel, the highest-ranking African-American woman in the army at the time. The others went home. Anna and Odessa went on to marry world war two veterans and have big families. Both stayed active veterans throughout their lives serving with The National Association of Black Military Women, of which Odessa was a founder.  

James Marshall said, “My mother says the greatest thing about the army, the military is that they gave her everything, even her children.” 

Finally, after more than seven decades, the women of the Six Triple Eight would get the recognition they deserved, including a monument that now stands at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Then in 2022, each woman was awarded the congressional gold medal. All eight of the remaining survivors were in attendance. 

“I'm very proud of my mother,” said Sheree Robertson. “Not only because she was awarded the congressional gold medal, but because of who she is and what she stands for, and the life that she lived.”
 
Jeri Marshall said, “She (Odessa) did what she was supposed to do. And I think she kind of instilled that in us, it doesn't matter about the circumstances, is can you accomplish the task.”

Additional credits to this article include:

James Theres, Executive Producer
Lincoln Penny Films https://lincolnpennyfilms.com/

Col. (Ret.) Edna W. Cummings, U.S. Army 6888th Advocate 
Cummings & Cummings, LLC
https://cummingsandcummings.net/ 

Cdr. (Ret.) Carlton Philpot, U.S. Navy, 
Project Director
The Buffalo Soldier Educational and Historical Committee
https://www.womenofthe6888th.org/ 

Ms. Tracy Bradford, Curator 
U.S. Army Women’s Museum
https://awm.lee.army.mil/