Black Female WWII Unit 'Six Triple Eight' Gets Congressional Gold Medal

The "Six Triple Eight," the only Black, all-female unit that served in Europe during World War II, has been awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

On Tuesday (April 29), the 668th Central Postal Directory Battalion, commonly known as the "Six Triple Eight," received the Congressional Gold Medal at the United States Capitol, ABC News reports.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R) presented Congress' highest civilian honor to the family of the unit commander, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley. More than 300 descendants and family members of the Six Triple Eight unit attended the ceremony.

"This remarkable story has brightly captured imaginations, it has now inspired books and movies, stirred the consciousness of millions of Americans, who are just now hearing and sharing this incredible story," Johnson said.

During their service in the 1940s, the 855-member battalion handled a backlog of roughly 17 million pieces of mail in three months before serving in France and returning to the U.S.

The medal comes after years of advocacy for the overlooked battalion, which paved the way for Black women in the military. During the Biden administration, Congress voted unanimously to award the Six Triple Eight with the honor.

During his speech at Tuesday's ceremony, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries highlighted the importance of the bipartisan celebration in the wake of today's political climate.

"We gather here today to salute these mighty veterans. We salute the ingenuity with which they sprang into battle," Jeffries said. "We salute the barriers that they broke in the system designed to push them aside. We salute their trailblazing spirit and the road that they paved for others."

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