Honoring the Black Women of the Great War

The White House has chosen today to mark Women's History Month by posting pics of women veterans of the wars.  The article posted below was written to honor my great aunt and the women with whom she served during World War II.......

 Originally published on 12/08/2008

  Black Women in WWII, Still Fighting for Recognition

The story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory WAC Battalion

Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airmen, Black men, bigger than life historical figures. Their stories told over and over. Their exploits dramatized on television and in movies. Rightfully celebrated as warriors and men who helped to create this country we call America. In recognition of their accomplishments, President Elect, Barack Obama, has invited the remaining members of the Tuskegee Airmen to attend his inauguration, in January. That invitation should also be tendered to the members of the Women Army Corp, the Black WACs of World War II.

There is always a distaff side to history. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Women Army Corp Battalion, was the only unit of Black women to serve in the European theater during the great war. As were all units, it was a segregated unit, created specifically to handle a monumental problem overseas. You see, the mail, the packages, the letters and boxes of food, sent to the troops, piled up in a warehouse in Birmingham, England for the first few years of the war. The mail was not making it to the soldiers on the front lines. The workers, both soldiers and civilians assigned to process the mail, were overwhelmed by the volume of their assigned task.

The 6888th CPD, was quickly formed. The unit was comprised of women from all over the country, who had signed up to serve. My own great Aunt, Sargent Bessie L. Robinson, was one of them. If she hadn’t been a member, then I don’t think even I would have known of their existence, or their contributions to history. I had the privilege of delivering the keynote speech at their first reunion, after the war, in June, 1979, in Cincinnati, Ohio. By this time, they were old, but still full of life, sparkling as they recalled the memories of their great adventures.

The women trained at Ft. Olgethorpe, in Georgia. Among other things, they had to complete five mile hikes in full battle gear, which included, pistols belts, gas masks, canteens, packs and helmets. They made these hikes under, what the army calls, active war conditions, meaning, somebody was shooting at them, or blowing up stuff, while they did it. After training, the battalion boarded a special train to New York, and Camp Shanks.

From there, they took a ship to Europe, and on February 12th, 1945, they landed in Scotland and boarded a train for Birmingham, England. Battalion Command was entrusted to Major Charity Adams, who died in 2002.

The unit’s job was to clean up the backlog of mail. They accomplished it in record time, working two eight hours shifts, per day. They processed 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, in order to get the job done. The 6888th CPD also served in Rouen, France as Allied troops liberated that country. They also pulled duty in Paris, France before returning home to the USA. Three members of the unit died while stationed in France.

While overseas, they learned about the death of FDR They shook hands with America’s only Negro general at the time, Brigadier General, Benjamin O. Davis. He greeted them when they arrived in England. When they returned to America, the 6888th was disbanded. The women dispersed. Some stayed in the service. Some retired and went home. The war was over, the country was still segregated, and there was very little said or written about their tour of duty.

The women who are still alive, are well into their 80's, now. The unit totaled 824 women and 31 officers. My aunt, Sgt. Bessie, passed away several years ago. The small part of history that I have presented here was passed down orally. A couple of books have been written, however, the official web sites, detailing the exploits of women in war, glance over, or fail to make any mention what so ever, of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Take nothing away from the Tuskegee Airmen. They deserve their acolades. I'm just saying that someone should remember their sisters, too.

Patriot Day in America

I really need to know what some people in this country are smokin' to get high. I mean, they must be high right, to act the way they do? Last week, the polls showed the confusion within the Tea Bag movement, where the sign carriers claimed they aren't racist, they like and want to keep their social programs like medicare and social security, they aren't looking for jobs because they don't need them, yet, they are extremely angry and are taking to the streets in protest.

Well, today is Patriot's Day in some parts of the country. Patriot's Day commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord that started the Revolutionary War back in 1775. Through the years other not so patriotic events have occurred on this day including, domestic terrorist bomber Tim McVeigh's killing of 168 Americans in Oklahoma City. McVeigh was ticked off by what happened in Waco Texas at the Branch Davidian Compound on this day. April 19^th is also the day of the bungled FBI raid on Ruby Ridge, when the feds went after white supremacist Randy Weaver.

Some self proclaimed patriots, like the gun happy Restore the Constitution people are rallying in a state park to celebrate, as close to DC as they can, to show the government they like their guns and weapons and don't intend to give them up without a fight.

Not that anybody asked them to.

During today's five hour rally on federal ground, they can carry their guns in the holster, on their hip, and their rifles slung on their backs with no bullets in them. They have to rally in Maryland within site of the Capitol because DC has very heavy restriction on guns inside city limits.

Ever since Obama took office these folks have been buying up bullets and guns so fast, you'd think the Soviet Union was back together and was martialing forces just off the coast of Nova Scotia, preparing to invade America and take this country by force.

However, recent gun history in America, reveals the loosening gun laws over the past several years. The Supreme Court has already rejected DC's gun law as too harsh, Congress is set to eliminate the DC gun law altogether, and President Obama signed the new gun law that allows these folks to carry guns inside national parks.

In other words, the man who is being excoriated for trying to take away their guns, actually is the one who put those guns into their cold hands to begin with. As a matter of fact, the number of states that allow for concealed carry has risen from just 9, twenty years ago to 37 in 2010.

Maybe it's not something they are ingesting...maybe it's in the air... maybe Obama Derangement Syndrome is real......maybe I need to buy a gas mask or helmet for protection. Whatever it is, these guys are preparing for a war that no one has yet declared.

Which brings me to the other thing happening today. Last year, a group of people got together in Illinois at what they called a constitutional convention. These people drafted what they say are 14 articles of freedom.

They are presenting these articles to all lawmakers today at around 2 o'clock at state capitals around the country. You can go here to read them. I will refer to them as “they” because frankly, I don't know who these people are. I wasn't invited to their convention. I didn't take part in the crafting of the 14 articles of freedom, and I don't know anybody who did.

So who are these people purporting to speak for me, someone who has voted in every single primary and election in which she has been eligible to take part. That act alone has put me on every list possible for inclusion in making decisions about this country.

Yet, I wasn't even asked to participate. They didn't ask...but I'm a tell em anyway..

Their introduction states they want to adhere to the priniciples spelled out by the Declaration of Independence. But do they understand that the Declaration was a dream...it was not the reality and never has been....same for the Constitution....a foundation and a beginning...not the final drawing to shape the country.

Think about it....the founding fathers wrote both the Declaration and the Constitution for white men with property, period.....not poor people....not women....not Native Americans and certainly not Blacks, free or otherwise...Blacks were not human and enslaved...women were chattel with perks in today's parlance...and Native Americans were a nuisance and in the way of white domination and expansion in the new world.

Eleven of the first 13 men who were elected president of the United States were slave owners. Yet they based their documents on the phrases “we the people” and “all men are created equal.” It was a dream in the making, set far off into the future.

They were smart enough to realize that the future changes and so must their founding documents, change to coincide with changes in the population, hence amendments to the Constitution are sometimes necessary.

Living in the past, is living in pain. You can't go back.

Real patriots, understand that.