Colonel Cummings Honors Legacy of WWII’s 6888th Battalion

Fort Oglethorpe, GA -(WDEF)A powerful story of service and history was shared today in Fort Oglethorpe, as retired U.S. Army Colonel Edna Cummings spoke at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center.

Cummings highlighted the legacy of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, the only all-Black, all-female unit deployed overseas during World War II. These women were tasked with a critical mission: to sort and clear a massive backlog of mail intended for American troops—a job many believed was impossible. Through determination and discipline, they succeeded, boosting morale and proving their capability in a segregated military.

Colonel Cummings shared how personal the story of the 6888th is to her. “The story’s so close to me. I served in the Army—not just for a short while, but in the Women’s Army Corps, when women still had limited opportunities. But long before I served, this group of Black women served in the 6888th. They didn’t have the freedoms I had, yet what they were able to accomplish and contribute to our nation in the last victory of World War II—that was a story I just knew needed to be told.”

Cummings has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the battalion’s legacy, leading efforts that helped secure the Congressional Gold Medal for the 6888th. Through events like today’s lecture, she continues to shine a light on a unit whose strength, service, and sacrifice helped change the course of military history—and paved the way for generations to come.