BRAINERD — Should I be ashamed that a large portion of my history knowledge seems to come from historical fiction novels instead of actual historical texts?
As some readers may know, history has never been my favorite subject. Luckily, reading is my favorite. So give me a good, colorful story with imagined characters who experience real-life, historical events, and I’m more likely to retain facts. I loved reading the “Dear America” books as a kid, so perhaps that’s where my fondness for historical fiction started. It continues today with authors like Kristin Hannah, who teach me about the past in an emotional, entertaining way.
My latest historical fiction find is “Women of the Post” by Joshunda Sanders. The novel follows the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, which was the only all-Black unit of women to serve overseas in World War II as part of the Women’s Army Corps. I learned about the significant impact these women had on the war effort as they served Jim Crow America, a country that recognized them only as second-class citizens.
Another fictionalized version of the 6888th’s work hit the big screen in the Tyler Perry movie “The Six Triple Eight,” which debuted on Netflix in December 2024.
‘Women of the Post’ by Joshunda Sanders (2023)
Led by Capt. Charity Edna Adams and her second-in-command Lt. Abbie Noel Campbell, the 6888th Battalion is ordered to Birmingham, England in 1945 to help sort the backlog of mail to and from soldiers, which includes millions of letters and parcels. “No mail, no morale” is their motto as they work to keep deflated troops connected to their loved ones. They’re under intense scrutiny, knowing their failure means even less respect and responsibility for the men and women of their race serving in the Army.
Judy Washington is one of the recruits, wanting to get out of the Bronx Slave Market, where she and her mom work themselves to the bone for very little pay. The Army will give her the ability to earn more money to send home to her mom, and perhaps she’ll also have the opportunity to find out what happened to her husband Herbert, who’s overseas but hasn’t answered a letter in months.
Mary Alyce Dixon joins the Women’s Army Corps with her two white friends from rural Vermont, where she doesn’t feel like she quite fits in. She longs for a life where she can work alongside other women, find a purpose in life and a sense of belonging. What she finds in the Army is much more than she bargained for.
The story is told through the alternating perspectives of Charity, Judy and Mary Alyce, as they experience the Army, establish new relationships with their colleagues and write home to their families about what’s happening.
It wasn’t until I finished the book that I learned Charity and Abbie were real people, and Mary Alyce was based on the real life Alyce Dixon. They were all standout military women, who paved the way for others to follow in their footsteps. Dixon was the oldest female veteran in the country when she died in 2016 at the age of 108. Fort Gregg-Adams, a U.S. Army post in Virginia, bears Charity’s name alongside that of Lt. Gen. Arthur James Gregg. It’s the first U.S. military base named after African Americans.
While Black History Month is a great time to delve into the rich history of the United States and learn about the innumerable contributions of African Americans, let this be your reminder to continue that learning throughout the year. Read, watch and learn what you can, whenever you can to be the best and most empathetic person you can be.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at
theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com
or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa
.
Theresa Bourke started working at the Dispatch in July 2018, covering Brainerd city government and area education, including Brainerd Public Schools and Central Lakes College.