‘Six Triple Eight’ Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 321) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Women's Army Corps who were assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the ``Six Triple Eight''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The 855 women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, better known as the Six Triple Eight, were given a mission to sort a 2- year backlog of mail consisting of millions of letters. But these women did more than just sort and distribute this backlog in record time. As the largest contingent of African-American women to serve overseas during World War II, the Six Triple Eight demonstrated successfully that African-American women could and should be included in the ranks of the military.

Throughout their time overseas, the Six Triple Eight had a motto: ``No mail, low morale.'' Beginning in February 1945, with their arrival in Birmingham, England, the Six Triple Eight perfected their sorting processes, setting up three 8-hour shifts running 7 days a week. At peak efficiency, they processed for delivery 65,000 pieces of mail per shift.

Army leadership estimated it would take between 6 months and a year to clear the backlog of mail. The women of the Six Triple Eight did it in 3 months.

The Six Triple Eight were then moved to Rouen, France, where they continued their mission, often working in cold, dark, and damp conditions and alongside German prisoners of war and French civilians.

Finally, this group of women was moved to Paris, where they remained, sorting and distributing mail to American troops through May 1946. In all, the Six Triple Eight were estimated to have distributed 17 million pieces of mail.

Yet, despite their important contributions to boosting troop morale and their work to dispel racist stereotypes within the military of the value and dedication of African-American women in the armed services, the accomplishments of the women of the Six Triple Eight went unrecognized for decades. This bill is small, but it is a significant step toward ensuring the Six Triple Eight's contributions are acknowledged and widely celebrated.

The bill directs the United States Mint to strike a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the women of the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion in recognition of their pioneering military service and contributions to increasing the morale of all American personnel stationed in Europe by ensuring no mail from loved ones was left undelivered.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my friend from Ohio--and I thank him for his remarks--if he has any other speakers. If not, I was hoping Ms. Moore would be here, but I am prepared to close.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his personal remarks about how important the mail--receiving mail and receiving communication--is.

There were 7 million people in the European theater during World War II, and there were many names that were exactly the same that these women had to sort through. In fact, there were some 7,500 individuals named ``Robert Smith,'' and they had to figure out precisely who was to receive what mail. They did this, and they did this in very difficult environments and were able to provide the morale that was so key to all of these soldiers, sailors, and airmen and -women in their service.

So I suggest to my friend from Ohio that we close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio because I thought we were all finished, but obviously there are other speakers and there is time on both sides.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I thank the sponsor of this bill and the passion she always brings to this floor. I also thank the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, Senator Moran from Kansas. I thank everybody for their hard work in ensuring the women of the Six Triple Eight receive the recognition they so richly deserve.

As Drexel University historian Gregory S. Cooke notes: They knew what they did would reflect on all other Black people. The Tuskegee Airmen, the Six Triple Eight, represented all Black people. Had they failed, all Black people would be seen to have failed. That was part of the thinking going into the war. The Black battalions had the burden that their role in the war was about something much bigger than themselves.

The women of the Six Triple Eight fought a battle indeed greater than the warehouses stacked to the ceiling with bags and bags of undelivered mail and ensuring our Nation's soldiers received letters from back home. It was also a battle for equality and for recognition and respect from their fellow Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of S. 321, the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act.

Mr. Speaker, with our world so interconnected today, we can sometimes forget how big the role of mail played in our daily lives before electronic technology came about. This especially rings true for those who left home to defend our Nation in times of war.

As stated by the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum: ``For members of the Armed Forces, the importance of mail during World War II was second only to food. The emotional power of letters was heightened by the fear of loss and the need for communication during times of separation.''

The importance of morale-boosting letters was well-known back home in the United States, and many answered the call to send letters to the U.S. military fighting in the Great War. However, getting these letters to the Americans on the front lines was an arduous task.

By February 1945, warehouses in Birmingham, England, had a backlog of millions of pieces of mail. This is where the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion forever changed history.

Going back a bit, on July 1, 1943, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law legislation that established the Women's Army Corps, better known as WACs. Early on, this corps consisted of only White women, and even when African-American women were admitted into the WACs, the recruitment was limited to only 10 percent.

Additionally, those who did enlist served in segregated units; they participated in segregated training; and

they lived in segregated areas. Despite the overt racism and segregation, a total of 6,520 brave African-American women served in the Women's Army Corps.

In November 1944, despite slow recruitment of volunteers, a battalion of 817--and later, 824--enlisted personnel and 31 officers, all African-American women drawn from the WAC, the Army Service Forces, and the Army Air Forces, was created and eventually designated as the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion.

Upon arriving in Birmingham, the unit got right to work creating effective processes and filing systems to track servicemembers and organize ``undeliverable'' mail. They were so efficient that they cleared a 6-month to a year backlog in only 3 months.

Spurred on by their motto, ``No mail, low morale,'' these brave women cleared an average 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, ensuring that our servicemembers had the ability to hear from loved ones back at home and to sustain the high morale that was needed.

Since World War II, the Six Triple Eight has received the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Women's Army Corps Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal for their service. Today, we should add the Congressional Gold Medal to this distinguished list.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Representative Gwen Moore from Wisconsin, the author of H.R. 1012, for her work to bring recognition to these brave women. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I believe we are in a period of dueling reserves, trying to accommodate colleagues who are en route. But I would elaborate. As a prior enlisted servicemember, never serving in a field of combat, just getting a letter from home when you were away on a deployment, or even from the very moment you went to basic training, in those days, you didn't have cell phones, text messages, emails, instant messages, web chat rooms and all these things, so your lifeline was the postal service.

Frankly, I owe to the mail service that delivered letters to me while I was a cadet at West Point a big part of the courtship that led to me marrying my wife. We dated the whole time we were there. We looked forward to letters. We did have pay phones back then, so you would wait in line for the pay phone that augmented the letters.

It is heroic what these women did, as we think about other things that have changed, thankfully, the period of time where it was looked upon with skepticism that women could serve in our military, or African Americans, men or women, in any other way could serve. The idea that they were segregated in every way through this whole period of history is, I think, shocking to people today.

But this was really a key piece of our history in allowing this transition. So I think it is fitting that they are recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal, and I encourage, once again, all of our colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just conclude by saying yes, I am prepared to close, and I urge all of my colleagues to support S. 321. I yield back the balance of my time.

Would the gentleman consider yielding to Mr. LaTurner?

I do.

The Speaker pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman reclaims his time and is recognized.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I rise in support of S. 321, the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act, which would award Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the Women's Army Corps who were assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the ``Six Triple Eight.''

S. 321, the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act, directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in recognition of their pioneering military service, devotion to duty, and contributions to increase the morale of personnel stationed in the European theater of operations during World War II.

On July 1, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law legislation that established the Women's Army Corps (WAC) as a component of the Army.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of the National Council of Negro Women, advocated for the admittance of African-American women into the newly formed WAC to serve as officers and enlisted personnel.

As a result of their efforts, the ``Six Triple Eight'' formed an all- Black battalion of the Women's Army Corps.

The 6888th had 855 Black women, both enlisted and officers, and was led by Major Charity Adams.

Most of the 6888th worked as postal clerks, but others were cooks, mechanics and held other support positions, making the 6888th a self- sufficient unit.

During World War II, there was a significant shortage of soldiers who were able to manage the postal service for the U.S. Army overseas.

The 6888th left the United States on February 3, 1945, sailing on Ile de France and arrived in Glasgow on February 12.

When the 6888th arrived in Birmingham on February 15, 1945, ``they saw letters stacked to the ceiling of the temporary post office, some letters had been in the offices for as long as two years.''

Army officials believed that undelivered mail was ``hurting morale.''

Early in the operation, a White general sent a White officer to ``tell them how to do it right,'' but Major Adams responded, ``Sir, over my dead body, sir!''

The battalion finished what was supposed to be a six-month task in three months in May 1945.

The women of the 6888th worked in three different shifts, seven days a week, processing and delivering mail--a morale booster--to the troops in Europe.

The 6888th was a segregated unit, sleeping and eating in different locations from the White, male soldiers.

European ``locals'' treated them better than other American soldiers did, which was the experience of most Black troops who served during WWI and WWII.

Once the backlog in Birmingham had been dealt with, the 6888th were shipped across the Channel to Le Havre in May 1945 and were sent to Rouen, where they dealt with another backlog of mail, with some letters being three years old.

In February 1946, the unit returned to the United States where it was disbanded at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

There was no public recognition for their service at the time.

On February 25, 2009, the battalion was honored at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Alyce Dixon and Mary Raglan, two former unit members were honored by President Barack Obama and first lady, Michelle Obama in 2009.

The extraordinary accomplishments of this unit are deserving of official congressional recognition and the United States is eternally grateful to the soldiers of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II, which saved lives, boosted morale and made significant contributions to the defeat of the Axis powers.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to vote for S. 321, the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2142) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 170 Manhattan Avenue in Buffalo, New York, as the ``Indiana Hunt-Martin Post Office Building''.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2142, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 170 Manhattan Avenue in Buffalo, New York, as the Indiana Hunt-Martin Post Office Building.

Mrs. Indiana Hunt-Martin was born on May 30, 1922, in Georgia. Her family moved to western New York when she was in elementary school, and she was one of only two Black students in her high school class.

She aspired to a business career but faced limited opportunities and had to take jobs picking peaches and cleaning restrooms at a TNT factory.

In 1944, Mrs. Hunt-Martin joined the newly formed Women's Army Corps. The Women's Army Corps had more than 800 Black female soldiers serving in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the Six Triple Eight. The Six Triple Eight was the only all-African-American Women's Army Corps.

Mrs. Hunt-Martin was one of the original 500 African-American female soldiers who were chosen to sail across the Atlantic. The soldiers feared they would not make it alive because they were being chased by a German U-boat. Fortunately, they arrived safely in Liverpool, England.

In England, the soldiers were assigned to horrific conditions, staying in dilapidated schools infested with rats and parasites. Regardless of the conditions, the Six Triple Eight cleared a backlog of more than 17 million pieces of mail and packages in only 3 months.

They were then relocated to Rouen and Paris, France, where they continued adhering to their motto, ``No mail, low morale.''

In February 1946, the Six Triple Eight returned to a segregated United States. The unit received honorable discharges when they were disbanded but no recognition of their accomplishments.

Mrs. Hunt-Martin went on to have a distinguished career at the New York Department of Labor, working there for 41 years and retiring in 1987.

She met her husband at the New York Department of Labor, with whom she had a loving daughter, Janice Martin.

Throughout the years, Mrs. Hunt-Martin was an active life member of several veterans organizations and mentored young African-American women who chose to serve in the military.

She was inducted into the New York State Veterans Hall of Fame and received several service medals.

Mrs. Hunt-Martin passed away peacefully on September 21, 2020, at the age of 98.

I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in honoring this American hero by naming the post office at 170 Manhattan Avenue as the Indiana Hunt-Martin Post Office Building.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins), the author of this important bill.

Madam Speaker, with no further speakers, I urge passage of H.R. 2142, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2142, legislation designating the Central Park Post Office in Buffalo, New York, as the Indiana Hunt-Martin Post Office Building.

It is fitting that consideration of this bill celebrating the life and service of an American trailblazer take place today during Black History month and upon Women's History Month.

Born in 1922, Indiana Hunt-Martin moved to Niagara Falls as a child and graduated from Niagara Falls High School before joining the Women's Army Corps in 1944.

Following enlistment, she traveled by railroad to Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia, where she underwent training.

She recalled encounters with segregation as she traveled south: a train stop in Washington, D.C., where passengers were separated into railcars based on race; separate restrooms and drinking fountains; and fellow military members getting in trouble for refusing to sit in the back of the bus.

Indiana Hunt-Martin was a member of the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion within the Women's Army Corps, the first Black female battalion and the only all-women battalion to be deployed overseas.

The unit sorted and redirected millions of backlogged letters and packages sent to soldiers, working around the clock to deliver approximately 65,000 pieces of mail each shift.

Indiana Hunt-Martin served this Nation selflessly and was honorably discharged from the United States Army on November 10, 1945.

After the war, she worked for the New York State Department of Labor for 41 years, retiring in 1987.

In addition to serving her country, she served her community through numerous veterans, church, and neighborhood organizations.

In 2014, we had the distinct privilege of presenting her with the medals she earned while serving in the United States Army, including the Women's Army Corps Service Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel award for her service during World War II.

The idea for this legislation was brought to us by Korean war veteran Sandi Williams, who serves as president and founder of the United Veterans of Buffalo.

The bill has the bipartisan support of the entire New York congressional delegation, the Bennett-Wells American Legion Auxiliary Post, the Johnetta R. Cole AMVETS Post, the Jesse Clipper American Legion Post, and many others.

From 1978 until her passing, Indiana Hunt-Martin frequented the post office on Manhattan Avenue in Buffalo weekly to purchase stamps, pick up mail, and send letters.

There are post offices named for Presidents and famous celebrities, but I might argue that there would be none more fitting than the one paying tribute to the legacy of Indiana Hunt-Martin and her service to our country.

I am proud to lead this effort, and I urge my colleagues to join me in approving this legislation.