New Bern's Own "Six Triple Eight"
NBHS Historian/Claudia Houston
A movie debuting in December 2024 states “Six Triple Eight" tells the inspiring true story of the incredible and brave women of the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color stationed overseas during World War II.” A woman born and raised in New Bern was a member of this famed unit known as the “Six Triple Eight,” the nickname of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion. This is her story.
Emma Laura Madeline Jenkins was born and raised in New Bern by her parents, Edward and Emma Dixon Jenkins. She was one of seven siblings who attended school in New Bern, graduating from West Street Graded School. Her family attended Clinton Chapel and resided on First Street. After graduation, Emma decided to join the Army. Emma’s youngest sibling, William Thomas Jenkins, age 91, was asked why Emma wanted to join the Army. He stated, “She always said she wanted to do something different.”
Before WWII, women were not allowed to join the armed forces. The primary advocates for women in the military were First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Founder of the National Council of Negro Women. President Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill creating the Women’s Army Corps on May 15, 1942. This enabled Emma to enlist at Fort Bragg, serving from 4 Aug 1943 to 12 Nov 1945.
The military was segregated and male-dominated, but with the formation of the Women’s Army Corps, Black Women were allowed to serve as officers and enlisted personnel. The initial ban on sending Black women overseas was also lifted, and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion was sent to Europe, the first women of color to serve in US military operations overseas.
In February 1945, 855 members were sent to their first assignment in Birmingham, England. Their mission was to clear up a two-year backlog of mail and packages sent to American soldiers serving overseas. The expectation was for the unit to clear the backlog within six months. They did it in three months. Their motto was "No mail, low Morale". The unit worked three eight-hour shifts daily and on weekends. In terms of living quarters, like the Black soldiers at the time, the women of the 6888th were subjected to a segregated military, sleeping in separate barracks and eating in separate mess halls. The warehouses where they worked were dark, rat-infested, and unheated. Packages and letters were bundled and reached the ceilings. Despite these obstacles, the 6888th sorted, repackaged, and forwarded eighteen million pieces of mail in ninety days.
The 6888th was sent to Rouen, France, to clear up another backlog. A small detachment also went to Paris, and in 1946, the remaining unit returned home, and the battalion was disbanded at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Although the service of the “Six Triple Eight” unit was forgotten, there was recognition in November 2018 when a monument featuring the names of the battalion members was unveiled in the Buffalo Soldier Military Park at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Emma Jenkins was discharged in November 1945 and returned to New Bern. She enrolled in Barber School in Raleigh through the GI Bill. There, she met Charles Edward Bullock, an Army veteran. Emma and Charles married on February 10, 1947, in New Bern. In 1950, the couple lived with Emma’s parents on First Street. The 1951 New Bern Directory listed Emma as a Barber at Vail’s Barber Shop in Five Points. She was proud of being one of the first female barbers in New Bern. Emma died on September 2, 1973, and Charles died on September 28, 1997. They are buried side by side at New Bern National Cemetery.
The forgotten story of this unit has gained recent attention, and in 2022, President Biden signed into law legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 6888th Battalion.