Heroes in a longer war
A historical novel explores the complicated position of an exclusively Black womens’ battalion in World War II
‘No mail, no morale” was their mantra. In 1944, as World War II dragged on and American losses piled up, troop morale was a mounting concern for US military leaders, and buoying spirits with connection to the homefront was crucial. That meant fixing an enormous mail backlog with some of the millions of pieces in limbo for over a year — no minor logistical challenge. So when this work was assigned to the 6888th Women’s Army Corps (WAC) battalion, which was composed exclusively of African American women, it made history.
As the people who restored the lifeline between troops in World War II’s European theater and their loved ones back home, the Black women of the 6888th battalion were heroes doing vital work. But while there is no dearth of World War II historical fiction, up till now Black women’s contributions to the war effort have received little attention. Despite a Netflix movie starring Kerry Washington on the way and a Congressional Gold Medal in 2022, the women of the 6888th have long been the hidden figures of US military history. Along with Kaia Alderson’s 2021 novel, “Sisters in Arms,” “Women of the Post” makes a significant contribution to correcting that longstanding neglect.
Mixing fiction with history drawn in part from records and memoirs, Joshunda Sanders’s debut is an important American story reclaimed by a journalist turned novelist with an eye for detail. One surprising revelation, captured so vividly, is that serving in support roles didn’t mean that these women were out of the field of danger. From the time they shipped out, being on the frontlines meant dealing with risk, including dodging bombs on the streets of England and attacks from German U-boats during their trans-Atlantic journey.
In spare prose, “Women of the Post” filters those experiences through the perspectives of three striking lead characters. Judy Washington is a young married woman frustrated by lack of opportunity at home in the Bronx and deeply anxious because she hasn’t heard from her soldier husband (and best friend), Herbert, in too many months. For her, the military might solve two great dilemmas: missing Herbert and finding meaningful work that pays a living wage. Mary Alyce Dixon, single and eager to get out of her small Vermont town and jumpstart a career, learns a life-changing family secret only when she is assigned to the 6888th. The third central character is a somewhat fictionalized version of the real world figure, Lieutenant Colonel (and eventually Major) Charity Edna Adams from South Carolina, who wrote a book documenting her experience. One of just 39 Black women in the new Officer Candidate School, Adams is a tall, physically imposing persona who defies expectations of how someone in her shoes should look and behave. Adams overcomes deeply personal obstacles to become a formidable advocate for her all-Black-woman battalion.
Sanders effectively sketches each woman’s motivations, but her greatest strength is in bringing this period of not-so-distant history to life. By making Charity Adams an anchor, the author firmly grounds her narrative in critical historical context. It’s fascinating to see the duality of the women’s position sketched out so clearly: courted by the military but not embraced by it during a period of still-contingent citizenship. (Historian Matthew Delmont captures this paradox in “Half American.”) Even with a concerted uptick in recruitment efforts, the US military remained segregated throughout World War II. (The order ending that policy would not come until July 1948.) Black women who had enlisted enjoyed the public support of pioneering educator and civil rights leader Mary McLeod
Bethune and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, but they endured systemic discrimination and resistance both within and outside of the institutions they served. Sadly, as Sanders writes, even “the news reports about the women were often mean-spirited. Male reporters wrote that Negro women were being deployed abroad to keep Negro male soldiers from harassing white women. They were expected to be chauffeurs or prostitutes.” The general public was also frequently hostile to Black women in uniform.
As the novel and the historical record both show, separate and unequal was a persistent reality for the women of the 6888th, a situation that exacted a psychological and emotional toll made palpable in “Women of the Post.” Despite a sometimes didactic style which occasionally privileges the social context and archetypes over the characters’ individuality, their story wields genuine heft. Like all Black women in the military at the time, Judy, Mary Alyce, and Charity were initially restricted to support roles stateside when other WACs were being deployed overseas. That changed in 1944 with the assignment of the 6888th to postal duty abroad. Given the historical weight of their mission, and despite the danger, the women’s enthusiasm and commitment are conspicuous.
At the same time, they feel enormous pressure, knowing that they are being tested and watched to see if they will measure up. Their historical position is both the carrot and the stick with which they’re beaten. It’s a heavy burden to be told that “If you are successful, it will lead to more assignments for Negro women in the ranks, and not just in the army, but the other branches of the military where Negro women have not yet served. If you fail, the doors of opportunity will stay closed to Negro women for who knows how long.”
There may be little artistry in these sentences, but the story has narrative power and resonance. “Women of the Post” is a moving and compelling tribute to the lives and legacy of Black women in the American military during World War II that feels especially poignant in this moment.
WOMEN OF THE POST
By Joshunda Sanders Park Row Books, 384 pages, $18.99