On Monday, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only overseas World War II battalion exclusively comprised of Black women.

Also known as the “Six Triple Eight,” the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was part of the Women’s Army Corps. The battalion was divided into five companies, and it was comprised of postal clerks, cooks, and mechanics.

The battalion was created due to the efforts of civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at a time when the United States military was still segregated. Even in the Women’s Army Corps, only white women were allowed serve until the creation of the Six Triple Eight. Active from 1945 to 1946, the battalion was primarily charged with sorting and routing mail for American service members. The battalion’s motto was “No mail, no morale.”

Led by Major Charity Adams Earley, the first Black woman to serve as an officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, the battalion consisted of more than 800 Black women. Of the hundreds of women who served in the battalion, only seven are alive. 

Like most Black people who served in World War II, the women of the Six Triple Eight didn’t receive the recognition they deserved for service in the war upon returning home. After the war, Black service members returned to the United States, which was still at the height of the Jim Crow era. While white service members were honored, Black men and women who served overseas were cast aside, their contributions to the war efforts overwhelmingly ignored.

“I wish more of the 6888th members were here, and I hope that I’m still here when President Biden signs the bill,” said Ms. Lena King, a veteran of the 6888th, in a press release. “That will be a great day.”

In the decades since the end of the war, the battalion has received some recognition. In 2018, a monument was dedicated to those who served in the Six Triple Eight Battalion at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

Last year, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced a bill to award members of the battalion with the Congressional Gold Medal. The legislation passed through the Senate with unanimous bipartisan support, and Biden signed the bill on Monday.

Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion serves as a massive step in recognizing the historical contributions of Black women.