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Article by Dr. Clara Small, professor emeritus  Elaine O. Smith Bennett Saltwater Media Elaine O. Smith was born August 18, 1918, in Madison, Florida to Andrew Smith and Mary Smith. Her early education and high school were in Clearview, Florida. Upon graduation from high school, she attended New York University (NYU) on a scholarship from her church. She studied business administration in college, but in 1942 she left NYU in her third year of college and enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. The Women’s Army Corp (WAC) opened doors for women to serve in the military, but originally did not accept Black women. Elaine Smith did not tell her parents that she had enlisted in the military until the papers were signed. At the time of her enlistment, racial segregation was still the norm, and black women were not accepted in the military. However, due to pressure from feminists, black politicians, and from Mary McLeod Bethune who was a friend of the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and a member of the President’s Black Cabinet, change occurred in the status of black women in the military. As a result, Black women were finally allowed to serve which led to the formation of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.  Mary McLeod Bethune c. 1949 Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division In World War II, 150,000 American women had enlisted in the military, but only four percent were African American. When the 6888th was formed in December of 1944, it consisted of 855 women who joined the war effort, but they had little knowledge of what they would be doing. They were soon assigned to various positions, including that of postal clerks, cooks, mechanics, and other support services. When Elaine Smith entered the military in 1942, she was bounced from one state-wide post to another before going overseas, and served at bases in Florida, Massachusetts, Iowa, Washington, Nevada, Utah, and Georgia. She and the 6888th left the United States on February 3, 1945 on the 15-day trip overseas on the “Ile de Frances” which landed in Glasgow, Scotland, on February 14, 1945 after having zigzagged across the Atlantic to avoid German submarines and bombers. From Scotland they were taken by troops’ train to Birmingham, England, where they quartered in a boys’ school that had no roof, because it had been bombed. The women often had to endure no heat or adequate water. They often had to retreat to the basement during blackout, and while performing their duties, they regularly stood in a foot of water until the all-clear sign came.  Photograph of WAC Officers Inspecting the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion February 15th, 1945 National Archives National Archives Identifier 531249 The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was commanded by Major Charity Edna Adams (Early), who became the highest-ranking African American woman in the military by the end of the war. The 6888th was the only all-black, all-female battalion overseas during World War II. Their duty eventually dealt with the backlog of undeliverable mail for United States soldiers stationed in Europe. The battalion was organized into five companies-Headquarters, and companies A, B, C, and D. The group was nicknamed “Six, Triple Eight” and their moto was “no mail, low morale.” Their work was crucial because many American soldiers in Europe were not getting their letters and packages delivered and their families were not receiving mail from them either. By the time the unit arrived in Europe, Elaine O. Smith had attained the rank of First Sergeant and was in charge of 250 women in Company D of the 6888th. Her division was responsible for the distribution of mail to more than seven million servicemen on the front lines in Europe. In England, First Sergeant Smith and the 6888th found a backlog of two or three years of undelivered letters and packages. The women worked around the clock seven days a week; and in only three months they cleared a backlog of around 17 million pieces of mail, which was two times faster than the Army thought the women could get it done, which was due to the efficiency of the 6888th. It was not an easy task because some of the mail was water damaged, molded, tattered and torn; many packages had incomplete addresses and others were vermin infested. The female battalion literally cleared 6,500 pieces of mail per shift. Once the battalion had completed its task in England, the unit was transferred to Rouen, France and dealt with a large backlog of letters and packages, which took them five months to clear. In France, the women of the 6888th also managed and cleared the mail in record time. From Rouen, the 6888th was moved to Caserne Tallandier, a fortress formerly used by Napoleon Bonaparte. Their quarters were primitive, often extremely cold, but the women did their jobs religiously, and forwarded millions of letters and packages from home to the front lines. The unit was sent to Paris, France and later served on detached duty in other locations, including Scotland, England, Belgium, Africa and Germany.  Members of the Women's Army Corps 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion sort packages taken from mail sacks by French civilian employees at the 17th Base Post Office in Paris, France November 7, 1945. Army/National Archives 451107-A-D0439-006C During the war, the women of the 6888th also suffered casualties, when three were killed in an automobile accident and four were killed when they step-ped on a land mine. They were also victims of racism and discrimination from American officers and soldiers. However, the women of the 6888th were treated better overseas than in America, and they performed their duties admirably. First Sergeant Elaine Smith served a total of three years of wartime military duty. Her assessment of the war was that she “brought home a determination to be darned sure that things would be better on the soil of the United States, because they would be full citizens. In Europe, we had a taste of no prejudice or segregation, and we went to war because we wanted to.” She and the 6888th felt pride in having served in the only unit of African American women overseas during World War II. When the women of the 6888th had completed its mission, they had broken all records of redirecting mail, having sorted an average of 5.85 million parcels per month. Once the war ended, the women of the 6888th returned to the United States where they were disbanded at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The women were awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal for their service.  European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Upon their return to the United States, First Sergeant Elaine Smith and the women of the 6888th did not find racial tensions lessened as they had hoped. In some instances, racism had worsened. There were no parades or acknowledgements of their deeds, so the women of the 6888th returned to their previous occupations, continued their educational pursuits, raised families, and generally kept quiet about their experiences in the war. First Sergeant Smith completed her education at New York University and earned a degree in business administration. On December 14, 1946, she married H. (Harry) Gordon Bennett, whom she had met in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, when they were both on overseas duty. Prior to the war, H. Gordon Bennett had taught school in Dorchester, Maryland, at St. Clair and Mace’s Lane schools in Cambridge, Maryland. At the time of their marriage, she was employed as a clerk at the Veterans Administration. For nearly three years, they lived in New York City where she continued to work for the Veterans Administration and the Federal Reserve Bank. After a number of years, the couple moved to Maryland and H. Gordon resumed his teaching position in Cambridge. Elaine also worked at the Extension Service Office in Denton, Maryland, prior to obtaining a position with the Cambridge Office of the Maryland Department of Employment Security. After twenty years of state service, Elaine Smith Bennett took over the position of Veterans Representative in the Cambridge Office of the Maryland Department of Employment Security, where she was the first woman and the first African American in Maryland to be named a veterans’ representative. In that position, she handled all veterans’ employment problems, as well as counselled them and referred them towards information on education and other services. She was employed by the State of Maryland Office of Employment Security for 34 years. In 1995, she received a Presidential Commendation for her service in the American Armed Forces. Elaine Smith Bennett was also a business owner. She owned and operated the Laines Florist Shoppe, flowers for all occasion business. She also served as a part-time stenographer at the University of Maryland. For her business acumen, she received an Exemplary Business Women’s Award from the Beta Epsilon Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, and other letters of commendation for her services.  Elain S. Bennett Appears in a 1962 Newspaper July 10, 1962 St. Petersburg Times & Bob Moreland In 1967, Mrs. Bennett experienced a devastating loss. At the time, she served as the bookkeeper for Hansel Greene, a very successful black businessman from Cambridge. On the night of July 24, 1967 Greene’s entire businesses, a popular poolroom, dance hall, and bar-night club complex known as the Greene Savoy, was burned to the ground. It had burned amidst racial unrest in Cambridge after H. Rap Brown’s visit to the city and was also heightened by the fire departments refusal to extinguish the fire which consumed most of the black businesses in Cambridge’s Second Ward. Sadly, Greene’s massive losses were not covered by insurance, and he committed suicide. Mrs. Bennett was devastated by the death of her client, her colleague, fellow businessman, and friend. Mrs. Elaine Smith Bennett was also involved in the local community and was a member of several organizations, including the following: the Congressional Black Caucus; Vice President of the Dorchester County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); a member of the Board of Directors for the Fassett-Magee Community Health Center, and a host of others. After numerous years of service to others, Mrs. Elaine O. Smith Bennett passed on November 19, 1997, in Cambridge, Maryland and was interred at the Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery in Hurlock, Maryland with military honors. She was a trailblazer, as she was in charge of and served in the only unit of African American women to have served overseas during World War II. As a result of her contributions to the local community, state and nation, Elaine Smith Bennett’s contributions and that of the 6888th will not be forgotten. For nearly 70 years, their story was not on the nation’s radar. On November 30, 2018, a monument was erected and dedicated in honor of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion at the Buffalo Soldier Monument Park at Fort Leaven-worth, Kansas. Elaine Smith Bennett’s maiden name is listed on the monument under the state of Florida because that was the state in which she resided when she enlisted. On February 28, 2022, the United States House of Representatives voted 422 to 0 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the women of the 6888th. The United States Senate had passed a similar measure in 2021. On March 14, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed into law a bill for the women of the 6888th to receive the Congressional Medal, Congress’ highest honor. Unfortunately, very few of the women have survived after 70-plus years after the end of the war. On December 20, 2024, the movie “Six Triple Eight” debuted on Netflix, which depicted the story of the women of the 6888th Battalion. The movie was directed by Tyler Perry and Major Charity Adams Early was portrayed by actress Kerry Washington. That movie and previous documentaries will assure the legacy of First Sergeant Elaine O. Smith Bennett and the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion will not be forgotten.  Elaine S. Bennett
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