"Six Triple Eight" Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (commonly known as the "Six Triple Eight") in recognition of their pioneering military service, devotion to duty, and contributions to increase the morale of personnel stationed in the European theater of operations during World War II.
The medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution and made available for display and research.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3138 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3138
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Women's Army
Corps who were assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory
Battalion, known as the ``Six Triple Eight''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 5, 2019
Ms. Moore (for herself, Mr. Watkins, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Beatty, Mr.
Grijalva, Ms. Wild, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr.
Ruppersberger, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Johnson
of Georgia, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Cohen,
Mr. McGovern, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Plaskett, Ms. Clarke of New
York, Mr. Cole, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Brown of
Maryland, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms.
Kaptur, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Evans, Ms. Lee of California, Ms.
Wilson of Florida, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Rush, Ms. Titus, Ms. Blunt
Rochester, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Engel, Ms. Haaland, and Ms. Schakowsky)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House
Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Women's Army
Corps who were assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory
Battalion, known as the ``Six Triple Eight''.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ```Six Triple Eight' Congressional
Gold Medal Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On July 1, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
into law legislation that established the Women's Army Corps
(referred to in this section as the ``WAC'') as a component in
the Army. The WAC was converted from the Women's Army Auxiliary
Corps (referred to in this section as the ``WAAC''), which had
been created in 1942 without official military status. First
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of
the National Council of Negro Women, advocated for the
admittance of African-American women into the newly formed WAC
to serve as officers and enlisted personnel.
(2) Dubbed ``10 percenters'', the recruitment of African-
American women to the WAAC was limited to 10 percent of the
population of the WAAC to match the proportion of African
Americans in the national population. Despite an Executive
order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 banning
racial discrimination in civilian defense industries, the Armed
Forces remained segregated. Enlisted women served in segregated
units, participated in segregated training, lived in separate
quarters, ate at separate tables in mess halls, and used
segregated recreational facilities. Officers received their
officer candidate training in integrated units but lived under
segregated conditions. Specialist and technical training
schools were integrated in 1943. During World War II, a total
of 6,520 African-American women served in the WAAC and the WAC.
(3) After several units of White women were sent to serve
in the European theater of operations (referred to in this
section as the ``ETO'') during World War II, African-American
organizations advocated for the War Department to extend the
opportunity to serve overseas to African-American WAC units.
(4) In November 1944, the War Department approved sending
African-American women to serve in Europe. A battalion of all
African-American women drawn from the WAC, the Army Service
Forces, and the Army Air Forces was created and designated as
the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (referred to in
this section as the ``6888th''), which was nicknamed the ``Six
Triple Eight''.
(5) With the exception of smaller units of African-American
nurses who served in Africa, Australia, and England, the 6888th
was the only African-American women's unit to serve overseas
during World War II.
(6) Army officials reported a shortage of qualified postal
officers within the ETO, which resulted in a backlog of
undelivered mail. As Allied forces drove across Europe, the
ever-changing locations of servicemembers hampered the delivery
of mail to those servicemembers. One general predicted that the
backlog in Birmingham, England, would take 6 months to process
and the lack of reliable mail service was hurting morale.
(7) In May 1945, the 6888th arrived in Birmingham. Upon
their arrival, the 6888th found warehouses filled with millions
of pieces of mail intended for members of the Armed Forces,
United States Government personnel, and Red Cross workers
serving in the ETO.
(8) The 6888th created effective processes and filing
systems to track individual servicemembers, organize
``undeliverable'' mail, determine the intended recipient for
insufficiently addressed mail, and handle mail addressed to
servicemembers who had died. Adhering to their motto of ``No
mail, low morale'', the women processed an average of 65,000
pieces of mail per shift and cleared the 6-month backlog of
mail within 3 months.
(9) The 6888th traveled to Rouen, France, later in May 1945
and worked through a separate backlog of undelivered mail
dating back as far as 3 years.
(10) At the completion of their mission, the entire unit
returned to the United States. The 6888th was discontinued on
March 9, 1946, at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
(11) These women faced racism and sexism, and worked in
austere conditions, but were able to clear more than 18,000,000
pieces of backlog mail for Americans in the ETO. Three died in
France and are buried in Normandy, France, while three others
were beaten in a bus station in Kentucky.
(12) According to the Department of Defense, during the
period between February 1945 and February 1946, the members of
the ``Six Triple Eight'' ``displayed meritorious service while
deployed to England and France'' and ``conducted combat support
operation which impacted the morale and welfare of U.S.
servicemembers fighting across the European continent''.
(13) The Department of the Army awarded its Meritorious
Unit Commendation award to the members of the ``Six Triple
Eight'' noting that their ``professionalism and dedication are
in keeping with the finest tradition of military service and
reflect great credit upon themselves, the Women's Army Corps,
and the U.S. Army''.
(14) The accomplishments of the 6888th in Europe encouraged
the General Board, United States Forces, European Theater of
Operations to adopt the following premise in their study of the
WAC issued in December 1945: ``[T]he national security program
is the joint responsibility of all Americans irrespective of
color or sex'' and ``the continued use of colored, along with
white, female military personnel is required in such strength
as is proportionately appropriate to the relative population
distribution between colored and white races''.
(15) The members of the ``Six Triple Eight'' received the
European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Women's
Army Corps Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal
for their service.
(16) While over 850 African-American women from across the
United States have been documented to serve overseas with the
``Six Triple Eight'', only a few are still alive including Anna
Mae Wilson Robertson of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Delores L.
Ruddock of Mt. Rainer, Maryland, Lena Derrieott Bell King of
Las Vegas, Nevada, Elizabeth Bernice Barker Johnson of Hickory,
North Carolina, Maybelle Rutland Tanner Campbell of Alexandria,
Virginia, Fannie Mae McClendon of Arizona, and Indiana Hunt
Martin of Maryland.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design in honor of the women of the 6888th Central
Postal Directory Battalion (commonly known as the ``Six Triple Eight'')
in recognition of--
(1) the pioneering military service of those women;
(2) the devotion to duty of those women; and
(3) the contributions made by those women to increase the
morale of all United States personnel stationed in the European
theater of operations during World War II.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award described
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
(1) In general.--After the award of the gold medal under
subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the Smithsonian
Institution, where the medal shall be available for display, as
appropriate, and made available for research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received
under paragraph (1) available elsewhere, particularly at--
(A) appropriate locations associated with the
6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion;
(B) the Women in Military Service for America
Memorial;
(C) the United States Army Women's Museum;
(D) the National World War II Museum and Memorial;
and
(E) any other location determined appropriate by
the Smithsonian Institution.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck under section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--Medals struck under this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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