See live: 'Six Triple Eight', all black women in World War II, honored with the congress gold medal

The only black, purely female unit that serves in Europe during the Second World War, which is generally known as Six Triple Eight, will be presented on Tuesday with the gold medal of the congress after a long -term campaign was recognized to recognize its efforts.

The spokesman for the House of Representatives Mike Johnson will surpass the gold medal of the congress at a ceremony from 3 p.m. Watch the player above.

The 688th central postal directory -battalion was attributed to the solution to a growing post crisis during his stay in England and when he returned as a model for generations of black women who joined the military, served as a model for generations of black women.

In three months, the device triggered a gap of around 17 million mail pieces, twice as quickly as projected. It would continue to serve in France before returning home. And how many black units during the Second World War have never attracted attention – until now.

In a ceremony that takes place in the emancipation hall in the Capitol Visitor Center, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., And others will present the medal of the family of the unit's family, Lieutenant Colonel Adams Earley.

Kim Guise, Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs in the National Museum of World War II, said that only two women live from the 855 who served in unity.

“This really shows how long this recognition took,” said Guise. “It is really important to recognize the achievements of these women and what they went through to serve their country in war.”

Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore, who sponsored the legislation together to award the medal to the 688th Central Postal Directory Battalion, called it a long overdue honor for women in unity.

“These heroes deserve their fees and I am so happy that their story is told,” said Moore, a democrat, the Associated Press on Monday. “It is particularly honored for me that my voter wife Anna Mae Robertson and the many others who served with her are recognized for their selfless service.”

In 2022, the congress voted 422: 0 for the highest honor on 6888.

“It is overwhelming,” said Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, who lives in Arizona, after the vote on the AP. “It's something I've never thought about.”

McClendon joined the Air Force after the military integrated in 1971 and retired. She was the first woman to command a purely male squadron with the strategic air command.

The 6888. Was sent to overseas in 1945 when the pressure of African-American organizations increased to include black women in the so-called women's army corps, and allow them to join their white colleagues overseas.

“They roared again and again that we went to overseas, so they found something for us to do abroad: to take care of the mail,” said McClendon. “And there was a lot of mail. … they expected that we would be there for about two or three months to have it done. Well, I think in about a month, in a month and a half, we had everything and went in the right direction.”

The 6888th work around the clock and processed around 65,000 pieces in each of the three layers. A system was created to use the Locator cards with the name and unit number of a service member to ensure that the e -mails were delivered.

Over the years, the history of unity began a broader recognition. A monument was built in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2018 to honor it, and the 6888. It was recommended in 2019 the meritural unit. A documentary “The Six Triple Eight” was made about the heroic deeds of the unit. In 2024, Tyler Perry made a film for Netflix about the unit with Kerry Washington.

Associated Press Writer Michael Casey contributed to this report.