They 'achieved a different kind of victory.' Army Women's Museum is highlighting their courage and dedication

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. — The Army Women's Museum held a ribbon cutting Friday for an exhibit honoring the hundreds of women who made up the Six Triple Eight.

For many, walking through a museum is a chance to experience a bit of history they might know nothing about. But that's not the case for Natisha Simms and dozens of others at Fort Gregg-Adams.

"This is probably my favorite part of the museum right here. This picture right here," Simms said pointing to the photograph. "Look at all of them in the background. Grandma's in there somewhere... I just feel so much emotion when I look at this picture."

Family members walked the "Courage to Deliver: The Women of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion" exhibit honoring their loved ones' service in World War II.

"They fired no shots, and they fought no battles," one speaker said. "And yet, their courage and their dedication achieved a different kind of victory."

Army Women's Museum

The Six Triple Eight was a mostly Black battalion of more than 800, with some Latinas, sent to Europe to deal with a massive backlog of mail.

Their first assignment was thought to need six months to finish. But they did it in three.

"As someone who is, frankly, fighting with the Post Office today to make sure our mail gets delivered, I have a new appreciation for the work that they did," Rep. Jennifer McClellan said.

They were then sent elsewhere completing similar missions while facing issues of sexism and racism.

"May their courage inspire us to stand up and hold the values of equality and justice for everyone," Del. Jackie Glass said.

Army Women's Museum

Simms' said her grandmother, Maybelle Rutland Campbell, downplayed her accomplishments as the group began receiving more recognition in recent years.

"It was just something that she saw as a chapter of her life that was closed," Simms recalled. "What stands out to me most is how hardworking she was, how dedicated, and how giving she was over time, to all of us, to her nation and to her entire family."

Leading the battalion was Lt. Col. Charity Adams.

Stanley Earley, Adams' son, said the exhibit is amazingly done and brought back memories she shared with him of the group.

"She would be thrilled. I think she was so proud of the Six Triple Eight and everything they did," he said. "And I don't think she ever imagined something like this."

The base where the museum is was renamed partially in Adams' honor last year.

"I thought, 'Well, this is really great," he said. "But I'm not going to be emotional and I walked in and I started crying."

Army Women's Museum

The other half of the renaming, Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg attended the unveiling.

"They performed extremely well and I'm glad to see the recognition," Gregg said.

"We're excited to be here for her. But... we wish she could have been here to understand how important her service means not only to us as a family, but to others," Simms said.

And as the exhibit now opens to the wider public, Simms hopes those others do more than just learn about the Six Triple Eight. She hopes they take inspiration from the courage and determination those women had faced in their lives and apply it to their own.

"Know that if they can do what they did during the climate that they were in, then surely we can do the same," Simms said.

At the end of the exhibit is another honor that will be coming to the Six Triple Eight as they have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. A replica of the award sits in the museum, but the actual presentation has not happened yet.