Filmmaker Tyler Perry has brought us the inspiring true story of the “Six Triple Eight.” Kerry Washington stars as commanding officer Charity Adams. Now streaming on Netflix, in this 2024 movie we see how Major Charity Adams and the Black all-women’s regiment, the 688th Central Postal Directory Battalion, raised the spirits of World War II fighting men and their families by sorting through an immense backlog of millions of undelivered letters and packages. Around 7 million soldiers stationed in Europe had not received at least six warehouses of accumulated mail from their loved ones. Within half the allotted time of six months this unit stationed in Birmingham, England, sorted more than 17 million letters and parcels and eliminated the backlog. Upon being transferred to Rouen, France, in June 1945 they cleared a three-year backlog in five months (Piccotti, 2024).
Who were these amazing women? Although Black men and white women had already been allowed to serve abroad during World War II, it took political pressure from legislator Adam Clayton Powell, the NAACP, and even President Franklin Roosevelt, to force the War Department to deploy Black women to the European theater in 1945 (Moore, 1997). Despite racial prejudice and misogyny in the US, these women were eager to serve out of patriotism and a desire to prove their worth as American citizens. During basic combat training at Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia they were forced to drink from “colored” drinking fountains and were subjected to crude remarks from male officers. Racial prejudice was also alive in Europe, however. The American Red Cross refused hotel accommodations for them. Major Adams boycotted the separate facility designated for them and chose her own in a former boarding school. Working conditions were brutal, in warehouses with no heat and near darkness as sorters worked in blackout conditions.
While serving in their mission to sort the mail, the women fought another battle on three fronts. “First we had to fight segregation, second was the war, and third were the men,” as one of the members said (Piccotti, 2024).
Upon returning home, the battalion went unrecognized until 2022 when they were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. As archivist Damani Davis said, the lack of recognition was typical of the indifference and even hostility that Black veterans received after WWII (Piccotti, 2024).
Moral injury has been experienced by both male and female soldiers and veterans. Whether because of being forced to transgress one’s own moral code or being harmed by others’ actions, wars leave no one unharmed. For females this often involves military sexual trauma or disrespect. These brave women served under harsh conditions so that they could benefit their country and prove their value.
To serve those who have served us, MISNS’ Harriet Tubman Network is the namesake of a strong Black woman who advanced freedom. It honors the service of this iconic Black woman and connects servicewomen to freedom and empowerment. Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen (MISNS) offers free counseling and support to current or veteran female soldiers (MISNS, 2025.
The ATHENA Nexus program seeks narratives that help women to identify their specific needs and to offer support services.
MISNS is signing up organizations as partners, seeking funding from grantors, sponsors, and donors, and recruiting women veterans to participate in a pilot program.
Interested individuals can contact Dr. Roberts at droberts@chaplainconsultants.com.
Learn more about Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. and sign up for our newsletter at: https://misns.org.
Get to know our team: https://misns.org/about-us/
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Susan Sganga is the Media Specialist for Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. and is a public health specialist located in North Carolina. She can be reached at 704-254-1548 or susanpsganga@gmail.com.
Sources
MISNS. (2025). Harriet Tubman Network: counseling for veterans. https://misns.org/programs/tubman-chaplain-network/
Moore, Brenda L. (August 1, 1997). To serve my country, to serve my race: the story of the only African-American WACS stationed overseas during World War II. NYU Press.
National Veterans Memorial Museum. (2022). Pioneering Women: Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley, U.S. Army. https://nationalvmm.org/pioneering-women-lieutenant-colonel-charity-adams-earley-u-s-army/
Piccotti, Tyler. (December 20, 2024). The true story of the Six Triple Eight and Major Charity Adams. Biography. Black History Month. https://www.biography.com/military-figures/a63023908/the-six-triple-eight-true-story