This Black Women-Only WWII Unit Has Been Honored With A Monument

The patriotic women that made up the only black female unit during WWII were recognized this weekend with a monument in Kansas, CBS News Radio reported.

The 800+ women who were a part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion were responsible for organizing mail while serving in Birmingham, England. The unit was created to help work through the backlog of mail that was supposed to be distributed to U.S. service members.

“Servicemen want their mail. That’s a morale booster,” 95-year-old Lena King, who was a part of the unit, told KCTV. “Within six months, we had cleared up two to three years of back mail.”

The monument in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas had all the names of the women and acknowledged their contributions.

It was a trailblazing unit because the Women Army Corps were separated by race and women of color were rarely allowed to serve overseas.