The Six Triple Eight

The 2024 movie The Six Triple Eight is based on the true story of the U.S. Army’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion—the largest group of Black servicewomen to serve overseas during World War II.

Maj. Charity Edna Adams (later promoted to lieutenant colonel) commanded the battalion, which—though battle-ready—was instead sent overseas in February 1945 to carry out “support duties.” Specifically, the Army stuck the battalion with the logistical nightmare of dealing with a six-month backlog of mail and packages stacked floor to ceiling in cold, poorly lit warehouses in Birmingham, England. The aim was to boost the morale of servicemen longing to hear from their loved ones by getting the stalled-out mail delivered.

The film’s selling point is its depiction of a team pulling together to get something important done under challenging social and political circumstances that included segregation and hostility from their own military. In contrast to the U.S. military’s racism and condescension, Birmingham residents reportedly were fascinated with the Six Triple Eight women, dropping by to watch the battalion work and sometimes inviting battalion members home to tea.

Remarkably, after the Six Triple Eight worked out a three-shift system for 24-hour processing of mail,

“Their innovative tracking system allowed them to process an average of 65,000 pieces of mail per shift. The six-month backlog that initially seemed like their very own version of Dunkirk? Gone in three months.”

After Birmingham, the battalion pulled off a similar feat in Rouen, France, clearing a three-year backlog in three months.

Directed by actor, filmmaker, and playwright Tyler Perry, The Six Triple Eight quickly became Perry’s most-watched movie on Netflix, garnering over 52 million views in its first four weeks and reaching the Top 10 in more than 85 countries.

In 2025, Congress awarded the battalion the Congressional Gold Medal, accepted by Lt. Col. Charity Adams’ son on behalf of the unit.