Phxt “Before Email, They Delivered Love: The Untold Story of the 855 Black Women Who Moved Mountains of Mail in WWII”
They Delivered More Than Mail: The Untold Legacy of the “Six Triple Eight”
During World War II, while bullets flew and armies marched, another battle waged quietly but deeply in warehouses across Europe: a mountain of undelivered mail, packages, letters, and photographs piled up, unanswered. Soldiers, stationed far from home, waited weeks—sometimes months—for any word from their families. Morale withered in silence.
That’s when 855 courageous women stepped into the breach. Known as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, or the “Six Triple Eight,” they embarked on a mission almost nobody remembered—until recently. Their task: sort through the backlog, identify rightful recipients, and deliver news of life and love to U.S. soldiers at the front.
Under the leadership of Major Charity Adams, the all-Black, all-female unit arrived in Birmingham, England in early 1945 and confronted warehouses stuffed with undelivered mail. The scale was staggering: an estimated 17 million pieces backlogged in Britain alone.
Working in triple shifts, seven days a week, the Six Triple Eight processed as many as 65,000 items a day per shift. Operating with the motto “No Mail, Low Morale,” they built intricate card-index systems to distinguish servicemen with common names and make sense of unclear addresses. What was expected to take six months? They completed in just three.
They didn’t stop in England. After V-E Day, they moved to Rouen, France, where another backlog awaited. There, despite fatigue and the ruins of war, they pressed on—bringing closeness across oceans and distance.
One of those brave women was Romay Johnson Davis. Born in Virginia in 1919, she joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1943 and later volunteered for the 6888th. During the war, she served as a mechanic, driver, and essential member of the operation.
On June 21, 2024, at age 104, Romay Davis passed away—one of the last living links to the battalion’s legacy.
Remarkably, in 2022, Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the 6888th—a long overdue honor for women whose work literally tied thousands of hearts back together.
Today, as a new generation learns their story, the Six Triple Eight stand not simply as postal clerks, but as beacons of resilience, unity, and unrecognized heroism. In a war where fronts were clear but connections were fragile, these women proved that every letter mattered—and that even in the darkest times, human bonds endure.
