Relatives of history making 6888th Battalion visit Stratford as Netflix turns the women’s World War II story into a film
WHEN the 6888th Battalion arrived in Britain from America in 1945, they were tasked with helping to boost the morale of the troops fighting in the Second World War.
This they were to achieve from their base in Edgbaston, Birmingham, where they were to sort through millions of pieces of undelivered post that should have been sent to the front line, letters and parcels from back home.
The Six Triple Eight, as they were known, had a three-year backlog of items to sort through and help on their way.
It was a unique task for a unique battalion – more than 850 predominantly black women from the Women’s Army Corps under the command of Major Charity Adams, the first African-American woman to command a battalion in the US Army. The Six Triple Eight was the first all-black US Women’s Army Corps unit sent overseas.
Once they had cleared the backlog in Birmingham, they were then moved to France to complete the same task with millions more letters and parcels.
In total they sorted, redirected, and delivered mail to more than seven million soldiers – it’s a story that is due to be retold by Netflix.
But before they left the Midlands, the women did a bit of sightseeing, including a trip to Stratford that was retraced by some of their descendants at the weekend.
The group are retracing the battalion’s steps from Glasgow, where the boat docked in February 1945 after an eventful voyage across the Atlantic, to Birmingham and then onto London and France.
The Birmingham part of the tour included a visit to King Edwards School where the battalion was stationed, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Windrush Memorial in Birmingham, and a day out to Stratford where the 6888th took a photo besides a statue of William Shakespeare.
That photo was recreated on Saturday and was a poignant moment for the group.
Kyra Kennedy, whose grandmother was Private First Class Hester Givens, said: ”Remaking the iconic photo of the 6888th Battalion soldiers was such an emotional and humbling experience.
“This photo remaking experience inspires me to be a greater version of myself and inspire the youth in the United States to not be afraid, to set a positive standard, such as the women in the original photo.”
Dr Sheila M. Kearney, niece of Major Mary F Kearney, added: “We are grateful for the opportunity to visit Birmingham and Stratford as descendants of the World War II 6888th Postal Battalion. As a resident of Milford Connecticut USA (the next town over from Stratford CT, USA) I am happy to represent this historic unit.”
The tour was organised by Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours and led by Col (Ret) Edna Cummings who told the Herald: “Our heartfelt gratitude for the warm welcome received by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and the Mayor of Stratford.
“We are excited to retrace the 6888th Battalion’s military service in the European theatre of operations and honour their fond memories in the UK.”
The group will be in Paris today (Thursday) after visiting Bletchley Park (where thousands of women helped break Nazi codes during the war), London, the D-Day landing beaches and the American Cemetery in Normandy, and Rouen where the 6888th was stationed.
Paris was the last stop for the descendants as it was also the last European base for the women of the 6888th before they returned to the USA.
On their return to their homeland, there was no public recognition for the women’s service until 2009 when the battalion was honoured at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The same year, three surviving members were also honoured by President Barack Obama and other honours have followed since.
Their work – and the challenges and discrimination they faced in Europe – is likely to get a lot more attention when the Netflix film comes out. Filming is reported to have started and one of the cast is said to be rather well-known… Oprah Winfrey… that TV chat show host who recently interviewed a certain Prince Harry.
