Rep. Melanie Miller Announces Passage of Bill to Recognize Historic All-Women Battalion
COLUMBUS – State Representative Melanie Miller (R-City of Ashland) is pleased to announce that the Ohio House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 17, bipartisan legislation to recognize 6888th Central Post Battalion, with unanimous support.
Senate Bill 17 (sponsored by Senators Michele Reynolds and Hearcel Craig) is the companion bill to House Bill 204, legislation spearheaded by Miller alongside State Representative Erika White (D-Toledo) that designates March 9th of each year in Ohio as 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Day, a day to remember and honor the only all-Black women’s unit that served overseas during World War II.
“The story of the Six Triple Eight is one of courage, discipline, and extraordinary determination,” said Miller. “These women took on an overwhelming mission and delivered for our nation with excellence. By recognizing their service each year, we ensure their contributions are no longer overlooked but remembered with the honor they have always deserved.”
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” included 855 women and was led by Major Charity Adams, the highest-ranking Black female officer in the US Army in World War II.
The battalion worked 7 days a week, in 3 shifts, processing and delivering mail to the troops fighting in Europe. Each shift handled an estimated 65,000 pieces of mail. In total, the unit handled mail for over 4 million military and civilian personnel and untangled massive mail backlogs in the UK and France. A task that military leaders estimated to take six months, the battalion completed the task in three months.
The battalion was disbanded on March 9, 1946, at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
Senate Bill 17 now goes to the Governor for his signature.
