IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 867 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 6888th 

Central Postal Directory Battalion and celebrating Black History Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2020 

Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself and Ms. MOORE) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion and 

celebrating Black History Month. 

Whereas, since 1976, the United States has celebrated Black 

History Month each February to seize the opportunity to 

honor the accomplishments of African Americans in every 

area of endeavor throughout the history of the United 

States; 

Whereas the people of the United States honor the 6888th 

Central Postal Directory Battalion (referred to in this 

preamble as the ‘‘6888th’’), which was the first and only 

African-American unit in the Women’s Army Corps to 

deploy overseas during World War II; 

Whereas the 6888th consisted of 855 Black women, both enlisted and officers, who served honorably in Europe durVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR867.IH HR867

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•HRES 867 IH 

ing World War II from February 1945 to February 

1946; 

Whereas First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged the military to provide meaningful positions for Black women to 

serve in the war overseas; 

Whereas during World War II there was a significant shortage of postal workers across the European Theater; 

Whereas the 6888th was a self-sufficient unit consisting 

mainly of postal clerks, but also cooks, mechanics, and 

other support positions; 

Whereas the 6888th trained at Fort Oglethrope, Georgia, and 

deployed overseas to Birmingham, England, in February 

1945; 

Whereas once the 6888th arrived in Birmingham, they were 

met with rooms full of mail stacked from floor to ceiling, 

dating as far back as 2 years; 

Whereas much of the mail was difficult to sort, often only addressed to first names or nicknames; 

Whereas the 6888th devised a system to handle the backlog 

and worked in 3 shifts around-the-clock, sorting millions 

of pieces of mail; 

Whereas the project was estimated to take 6 months to complete, but the battalion finished the task in an impressive 

3 months in May 1945; 

Whereas the 6888th went on to Rouen and Paris, France, to 

address other backlogs of mail as old as 3 years, again 

with remarkable speed, accuracy, and professionalism; 

Whereas members of the 6888th were awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, 


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•HRES 867 IH 

and the World War II Victory Medal during their service; 

and 

Whereas Black History Month provides all individuals in the 

United States an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of African Americans, including the remarkable 

service of the 6888th: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) during Black History Month encourages all 

3 individuals in the United States to celebrate the his4 tory of the United States and the important accom5 plishments and contributions of African Americans; 

6 and 

7 (2) appreciates the contributions of and sac8 rifices made by the soldiers of the Women’s Army 

9 Corps assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Direc10 tory Battalion during World War II, who served 

11 honorably and are members of the ‘‘Greatest Gen12 eration’’. 

Æ 


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