Transcripts For CSPAN3 African American Women Army Corps Battalion 20240711

Coming up on American History tv, we hear from members of the only allfemale africanameric africanamerican unit serving overseas during world war ii. They share memories of their time servicing backlog mail for soldiers in europe. A Young American stood in front of 10 downing street in the 50s as a man with a cigar came out the door. They asked, mr. Prime minister, tell us the secret of your success. Winston churchill replied, study history. For it lie all the secrets of state craft. You heard a great phrase, theres nothing you can do about have a 20 or 22yearold body, but theres no excuse for you not having a 5,000yearold mind. Its at your fingertips. But let us continue to look back so that we can see forward. Im pleased to introduce to you pat lock who will moderate the next panel. Pat lock was the first africanamerican woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1980. Shell bring forth a group of women that have an unheard story, Unsung Heroes that played an Important Role in americans history. Im pleased to introduce pat lock. [ applause ] good morning, everyone. I know i have a lot of friends at the Naval Academy, but i am not the first african woman to graduate from the Naval Academy. Im the first africanamerican woman to graduate from the United States military so with that, i would like to say that i am honored to be in the presence of this history. I remember reading about these ladies 40 years ago in department of defense publication and noticing everything that they went through to open the doors for people like me. So with that, i know we have very limited time here, i want to make sure i give them a chance to tell their story. So i would like to start out with just a general question, and anyone who would like to respond, please do so. Id like to hear from everyone. As you see fit, you can answer the question. I would just like to know from that experience, and i think you all may know the history, you have the history on the background here, but they went into the 6888 postal battalion. It was formed to handle a backlog of emails. They initially had 800 africanamerican women in that battalion. When they deployed to england they had a surprise waiting for them. 17 million pieces of mail that that were backlogged. With that, with all of the deployment, and i remember reading that the only way that africanamerican women could serve overseas was if the theater commander specifically requested them. So the 6888 was one of those battalions that was recruited to come over to europe to serve in the european theater. So with that, what was one aspect of your deployment, your effort, your successes over there that you would like to relate to the audience. I would like for them to know how appalling it seemed with the mail piled as high as it was to get it done in the length of time they wanted us to do it. They gave us a year to catch up with the back mail. We did it in eight months. Eight months. Very good. Very good. So did you have anything to add to that . Yes. When we got there, the mail was just piled up. It was rat infested. We had to find a place to make our postal facility so we could handle it. So we used an old airplane hangar and built our post office. With that we had we worked seven days a week, three shifts. We were able to get the mail out in onethird of the time they had assigned us. Our motto was, no mail, low moral. That was our motto. Okay. And we felt that the one thing that Service People want is to be able to connect with their families. And families, of course, want to see how their loved ones are doing. So it was a very Important Mission for us to be able to have that connection. Very good. So before we good on, i want to be sure i get the comments from the ladies over here also. I want to make sure who youre talking to. So on the far end is miss johnson. Thank you for your service. And next to me is miss king. Thank you also for your service. Over here i have miss robertson. Thank you for your service. And on the far left i have miss ruddock. Thank you all for your service. So you know who youre talking to, i think you have the bios on the back of the screen. With that, did you have any comments about how much you had to do when you first arrived in england with the mail challenge . Did anybody else have any more comments regarding that before we go onto the next question . I think not only was there not a place for our mail, we had no facilities to live in. Our facilities had been bombed, and we had to quickly make a place for us to stay. We used an old schoolhouse. We cleaned it up and made that do for our lodgings. Okay. Very good. So you kind of improvised with everything. Everything we had to improvise. From what ive read, the theater commander came down, and he was very, very impressed with the level of discipline that you had in your unit, your appearance, your military courtesy. How did all of that come about . How did you know to do that . Were you emulating someone else that you saw . Seriously, that kind of opened the doors for the rest of us, because you guys set a standard for all africanamerican women coming into service after that. Do you have any comments about that . Youre in the army. You do what youre told. You wear what you wear. You dont have any problems. When youre enlisted, you do what youre told. You wear the garment of the day. Clothes were not a thing. Thats not a problem. Thats away from it. You have a uniform. You wear it. The point is that you have a job to do and you do the job, period. I dont know what other questions you have. I could go on forever. I just remember i really appreciated when i saw the photos, i didnt know anything about the military when i in listed. When i saw the photos and how sharp everyone looked with the uniforms and shoes, made me want to join. You know, when youre in uniform for dress parades, you have youre working. Youre there to do a job. We had a job to do. So you wear fatigues or whatever is there, period. Clothes is not the point. The point is to get the mail out. Get the mail out. Very good. Your motto was no mail, low moral. All right. Very good. So what is one of the primary the best the most important lesson that you can share with our audience right now about maybe leadership about hardship, work ethic, anything like that that you can share with our audience right now. You enlisted to do a job. Whatever you were assigned, this is what you did. This is why you were there. So you cant go on just doing whatever you want to do. You came there to do your duty for the country. Of course you had to follow the rules and regulations. This is what we signed up for. So you had a very hard experience. You had to deploy to england, but then you also had to deploy from england to france. You had all of that happen in a very short amount of time. Can you tell me about the transition . How did you do that . You had to have a huge work ethic to get that done. Did you pull all nighters. Youre in the army. You do what youre told. The army has a way to do it. When we worked, we had three shifts. All right. We did what we were told. Therefore, i was a pfc, so i did what i was told. Therefore, we sorted the mail, we directed it to where it was supposed to go and we did as we were told. As i said, we worked in three shifts. So when youre doing that, the best you can, theres no question about it. You know, in the army you dont question anything. You do as youre told or else. So therefore that was not a big problem. This was something new to us, and we were pretty young. I was 19 when i went in. So that was it. And no problem. We did england, rome, france, and then we went to paris. So we worked the three shifts there. We were able to get the mail redirected in a very short time. Okay. So we were able to do it in less than a year to come back and thats it. Okay. Can you talk to us a little bit about the leadership that you had. You obviously accomplished a lot in a small amount of time. Did the leadership have anything to do with that . I think we all were dedicated and knew what we had to do. We were told in the beginning that this is our job. This is the way we had been trained. We went there to do this job, and we got it done. Okay. So i think when they chose the group, we went to oglethorpe and were trained, we knew that was discipline that kept us in tact and made us know that this was this was an assignment, and we knew this is what we signed up for. So it was just that work ethic that we had. I think they chose women who they could rely on to work that way, think that way. Okay. Very good. So you had both army and air force women in the same battalion . It was at that time, they were all one unit. Okay. Air force and army were together. Okay. Very good. It was later, i think a number of years later that they were separated. Did you speak of how did you guys get along . Did you get along okay . Did you sleep in open bays, individual rooms . Did you have best friends . Did you have people you hated . Being in an army unit with that amount of pressure to get things done, did the pressure cause friction or you just had all best friends, right . Not really. It was like college. It doesnt matter how you feel or what you think, youve got a job to do and you do it. Period. Very good. So we have a theme here. Youve got a job, youve got to get it done no matter what. All right . Thats right. Its like anywhere else, you choose the group that you want to hang out with. You know, it was a large battalion, you dont know everyone, but youre there for the same purpose. Right. Your leadership helped to guide. But your little groups, you know what your assignment is, your discipline and you do it. Okay. I think we went there with the attitude that we were there to do a job. And you were very, very successful with all of that pressure, and your big sisterhood in the battalion. Did you have a social life at all . 17 million pieces of mail. Did you have any time to do anything else, go to a movie, go out on dates . Any social life whatsoever . No, not too much really. Not a social life. Okay. I just thought id ask, because you all had a lot to do. We made our own little fun, you know. We played games. We had friendships. But as far as getting out in the public, it was very late in the game that we were able to, you know, get out and meet people. Okay. When we were in birmingham, the people were so wonderful to us. They knew what we were there for. They gave us a lot of support. We enjoyed their hospitality. But when time came for work, we did work. After our work was done, we had time for a little socializing. Okay. But that was quite limited. Okay. Very good. Is there any aspect of your job that was the hardest thing that you had to deal with . Say what . Was there an aspect of your job, your big mission, that was the hardest thing that you had to deal with . And what was that . You had a job to do. You did the job. Period. [ laughter ] im sorry, but it doesnt matter. You made a commitment, and you go through with it, all right . Its all new to everybody. Here we are. Were in the army. We have a job to do. We have sergeants to tell us what to do. Im a private. So therefore you do it. And if you have any question, you keep it silent because its not going to get you anywhere. So therefore, the best thing to do and this is all new to americans i think. So we did it. And the thing i can say is, hey, after we finished the job ahead of the schedule that they thought had to be done, we did it i think in about six months or so, but we covered it and got it out three shifts. And the then we came home. So thats it, you know. And the army was good. Those of us who left, me, i came out of the service. And the army gave us schooling where we wanted to go. And a little subsistence pay along with that. So i took advantage of it and that was it. Period. And no more word about the army, period. Thats it. No more word. So do you all want to just tell us a little bit about what happened after your tour overseas and you came back home . Did you want to share with the audience anything that happened after that . Well, i went directly home because i lost my father while i was in the military. My mother was very sick. So i got a discharge and went home. I went to ft. Dix and was discharged. I married while i was in the service. Social life. Yeah. I went from philadelphia where i enlisted, my husband was from california. And i lived in california. And started a family. Went to school, became an rn. And had a family and that was the end of it. We never heard anything more about all of that was behind us until a gentleman by the name of Carlton Philpot thought that we deserved to be recognized because we never had a parade, we never i mean, we just came out and went home and that was it. Carlton philpot thought that we deserved some recognition. And he invited us after 75 years just a few of us that are still remaining, were all in our 90s, im 96, shes i dont know. But anyway, he thought that we deserved a parade. And he invited us all to come to kansas city. And he had a monument for us. He said these ladies deserve some recognition, they were over there and the first africanamerican battalion. They were very well disciplined, they did a service. And he thought that he would give us a parade. Which he did. Not only that, he had a monument for us. He had the country really we wouldnt be here today if it wasnt for mr. Philpot. He made the world aware of us. And for that, i really thank him because we would have lived, you know, just really unknown. And carlton thought that these ladies deserve a parade. And so we had the parade we never had before. We are here because of him. Okay, lets go. I forgot this thing is on. Go ahead. Did you want to comment on anything that happened after you all left service and came back to the United States . I beg your pardon . Did you want to comment on anything that happened after you left the service and came back to the United States . Oh, i said before i took advantage of the gi bill and i went to the school that i wanted to go to. And uncle sam paid my little subsistence 50 a month. And that was it. There were my mates, the others that stayed in the service but i came out. And that was it. And i never heard any more about it until november. So there you go. Like were making it known to the world that there was a group there. And of course by the time we finished doing our processing of the mail, the snail mail, the mail to soldiers was already formulated. So there was no backup mail at that time. So we got rid of the backup mail and the mail has gone on since then. And this is a little belated thing unfortunately it came so late, that it ended up only seven of us out of the hundreds that were there to work the job. And im afraid that in our old age, we are not really capable of giving them full credit as much as we should because the memory helps a little bit. But however, here we are. Here we are. Thank you. And ladies, is there one other thing im looking to see if there is a time limit. If we could take a couple questions from the audience. Im not seeing any rejections. Yes, sir. This question is for ms. Barker. Good to see all of you. Hold just a second, ill get you a microphone. All right, sir. Thank you. Good morning. Hi. Im james harris. Good to see everyone again. Ms. Barker, could you tell us in may of 2019 what happened at winstonsalem university . I received my teachers degreewell, no, no, i received it before then. And i got to march down the aisle because i was not able to march when i finished my four Years College because i was teaching in virginia. And my superintendent would not give me permission to leave. So i just taught for 32 years and got my degree last summer. Last summer. [ applause ] good morning, ladies. Thank you very much for coming. Im from the Naval Academy. How did your families initially deal with you joining the army . How did your family react to you joining the army . Actually, what happened was i was 19 when i joined. And since i couldnt go to the school that i really wanted to go to because my dad couldnt afford it, the opportunity came, somebody said why didnt you join the army. And that was something new. And so i asked my father if i could join. And he said okay. So i was representing him in the service. And he signed me up to go into the army. So that was it. There were others of course signed on their own. But i went into the army for one reason, and i guess i accomplished that because after i came out, i did what i wanted to do. Thank you very much. Did you all have a comment about how did your family react, did they support you going into the army . My mother did, but my father was not no, he didnt. He didnt think that it was a good idea. There were all kinds of negative comments from various people about what, you know, was happening with women in the service and so forth. And it was because of ignorance, they didnt know, you know. And so but my mother had the she went along with the program. It was my father who sort of objected. He wondered how i would fair because, you know, i was his little girl. I was the only child. And that was very difficult for him to sign it. Okay. Maam, did you have an experience, how did your parents support you going in to the military . They were very supportive. At first they thought, well, you going into the military . My dad said thats a mans job. So i said well, there are women in there too. But it was not a struggle. All right. Very good. Thank you. Any other questions . Thank you, ladies. I have one, young lady. Can you all hear me . We need you to talk into the mic. Because were recording. Ladies, i want to thank you. But can you take a minute having been involved in the congressional gold medal process, can you please tell the audience what they are trying to did for you to contact your senators and congressmen, give them the bill numbers to support your efforts for your congressional gold medal . Well have [ inaudible ] i just wanted the information to get out there. Okay. Thank you. Hello, im edna cummings, champion for the 6888 congressional gold medal. The bill numbers are s 633 introduced by jerry moran of kansas, that is where the 6888 monument is located. Ath ft. Leavenworth, kansas. So he sponsored the bill on the senate side. On the house side, the bill number is hr 3138. This was introduced by representative moore of wisconsin. So s 633, hr 3138. As of today, we have 15 cosponsors on the senate side and 68 on the house side. We need with twothirds from the senate and house which equates to 67 of the senate side, 290 on the house side. So we have a ways to go. So i appreciate your support and appreciate the questions. Sir, did that answer your question about the congressional gold medal . It did, young lady. Thank you. And my name is elizabeth helmfrazier and i am the other producer of the film. So we want to thank you for your service. Please support the gold medal. And on behalf of these amazing ladies, i call them superstars, on behalf of all of them, well present major luck with this poster that is signed by all of these women sitting there and it is a documentary that was done by james farris, he asked that question the first time. And it is simply called the 6 triple 8. Make sure that you get that. Dont let me have to use my army voice. So thank you, maam, very much. Thank you. You want me to take this . Thank you so much. [ applause ] im honored to be here in your presence. And it is because of women like you and your discipline and your work ethic and the just get the job done, i dont want to hear anything else, just wanted to get that job done. So because of that, had the same attitude when i came in, just get the job done. Thank you very much for your service and paving the way for not just me, and not just women, but for men also. Thank you so, so very much. [ applause ] the town is entered by negro units by the battalion. I was a proud man. I was so happy that i was participating in the greatest war in history. But i still couldnt understand this segregation. Oh beautiful for heroes proved