Courtesy Photo | Charity Adams was the first Black officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later...... read more read more
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. — While Allied forces sank Japanese ships and dropped bombs on Germany in the summer of 1942, Charity Adams rose to a challenge that came by mail— foreshadowing the massive postal mission that would greatly impact U.S. service member morale in the war.
The 23-year old was on summer vacation from teaching math and science at a junior high school in her hometown of Columbia, S.C.
She was not after rest and relaxation.
Adams, who attended classes at The Ohio State University toward a Master of Science in Vocational Psychology during summer breaks, opened the invitation to apply for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) near the end of her fourth year as a teacher.
“The letter…emphasized career and leadership opportunities,” said Charity Adams Earley (name by marriage) in her autobiography, ‘One Woman's Army.’
The invitation stated that Georgia Myrtle Teal, Dean of Women of Wilberforce University (where Adams earned her B.A.), had recommended Adams.
“I was sure that Dean Teal would not have made the recommendation unless she believed in those opportunities,” Adams said.
A belief in the authenticity of the opportunity would be vital for a young, ambitious Black woman joining a segregated Army.
“I assumed all women lived with some degree of ignorance about the military,” said Adams, who had no family ties to any of the uniformed services. “I began making a mental adjustment to an unknown future. When I realized I was accepting the idea, I realized that the only basis I had for my feeling was an optimistic hunch.”
At the outset of World War II, there was uncertainty on how minorities would fit into the war effort. Many politicians and community leaders applied pressure on the U.S. government to ensure that Blacks could work in the defense industry.
With an eye toward integrating the military, 100,000 Black activists pledged to march on Washington, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 a week prior to the march, June 25, 1941, prohibiting ethnic or racial discrimination in the nation's defense industry.
This was the uncharted, politically-charged territory Charity Adams was willing to step into.
She could expect continual racism and gender discrimination, but she decided the opportunity was worth the struggle.
“There were limited opportunities for all women in this time period,” said Tracy Bradford, Army Women’s Museum curator. “The nation’s need for women in the military was a contentious topic. It was not an easily fought battle to get the legislation passed.”
Still, Adams had her 'optimistic hunch' backed by her recommendation, and that was enough.
“These black women who were in that first group to go to Officer Candidate School, they were selected by community leaders in terms that ‘they had the right stuff,’” Bradford said. “Other people believing in their capabilities and entrusting them in this role is important to understanding why these women joined.”
YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE PAST TO UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT
-Carl Sagan
One might wonder what parallels exist as to why people joined the Army historically versus why they join today.
“How important is it in this decision-making process when you know somebody believes in you or encourages you?” asked Bradford. “Are people encouraging young people today to step up and take those leadership roles still?”
For Capt. Ashley Salgado Padin, a logistics officer in the Captain’s Career Course at Army Sustainment University, Fort Gregg-Adams, Va., the Army also wasn’t a consideration for her until it was recommended as a match.
“Until my junior year of high school, I didn’t even think about the Army until a mentor saw that potential in me and recommended West Point as a path, and I leapt for it, so I definitely can relate to [Adams] on that,” Salgado Padin said. “In the same way that she felt like, ‘Why not? I could do this, and I could excel at it,’ I felt the same way.”
Capt. Lydia LaRue, a public affairs officer also in the Captain’s Career Course at ASU and also a West Point graduate, identified with Adams’ courage to take the road less traveled.
“She went on this pathway to start, where many women were going at that time, and she became a teacher,” LaRue said. “She was like, ‘This is mundane for me, and I want to try and go do something exciting,’ and this opportunity just sort of fell into her lap.”
Adams saw possibilities in the Army for potential adventures.
“I was told how completely out of my mind I must be to ever consider leaving the security of a teaching position to go into something as uncertain as the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps,” Adams stated. “My friends did not know that the uncertainty of the Army was far more appealing at this point than the certainty of the dullness and rigidity that the teaching profession had offered in the last few months.”
She was able to take a courageous leap and do something outside of her comfort zone, LaRue said.
“Knowing that there could be something really special on the other side, even knowing that you are going to face hardships, especially as a woman and for her as a Black woman, it speaks volumes,” LaRue said. “To be able to step into an unknown and come out the other side, that's inspiring to me.”
IF YOU AREN’T OPENING DOORS FOR PEOPLE, YOU ARE CLOSING THEM
-Marshall Goldsmith
Charity Adams is seen today as a pioneer, given the special accomplishments she achieved as the first Black officer in the WAAC (later known as the Women’s Army Corps) in World War II and in leading the first predominately Black WAC unit to serve overseas.
She is celebrated as both someone who broke through doors of opportunity and as someone who has opened doors for others.
As the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, she solved a problem others could not and oversaw the clearing of over 17 million pieces of backlogged mail in Europe.
A focus on mission completion not only helped Adams shape her legacy, but it also made the burdens carried in Europe easier to brave.
“How mail…would make the loneliness, the fear, the death of friends, all of this, easier to bear,” said Adams during a televised ceremony in 1995. “There was no Black, no white, no rank— just an understanding of our mantra: ‘No mail, low morale.’”
In ‘One Woman's Army’ and in looking back on the difficulties she and other women endured for their part in the war effort, Adams said she was grateful for shared hardship and proud of what they accomplished.
“This [autobiography] is a tribute to all women who served in the Allied cause during World War II,” Adams said. “It is my thanks for all the headaches, hard work, and companionship we shared and for the lasting friendships we still hold dear.”
Charity Adams had the right mindset to work through the challenges she faced, LaRue said.
“She was really resilient and tenacious,” LaRue said. “I found it remarkable how she handled struggles with racial relations at that time, and she was able to continue being this amazing officer even though there were obstacles.”
Salgado Padin said she appreciated how Adams was willing to bet on herself despite the doubts of others.
“Her family was supportive of her going into the Army, but that was when they thought that it wasn’t really a possibility, but she always knew,” Salgado Padin said. “Then, people wondered if Black WACs were going to do the job well or if Black women serving in Europe might cause more strife than the benefit of them being there, and she always said, ‘In terms of how we’ll perform our job, with the same training and the same opportunity, we can do the same work.’”
In today’s Army, women can take opportunities far beyond those available to Adams and the women of the 6888th. Thanks to their courage to accept new positions and new responsibilities, racial and gender stereotypes in the U.S. armed forces have been largely invalidated.
“I do think that women proved themselves more than capable, and I think getting the mission accomplished was a big part of that,” Bradford said.
GRATITUDE IS NOT ONLY THE GREATEST OF VIRTUES, BUT THE PARENT OF ALL OTHERS
-Marcus Tullius Cicero
In her autobiography, Adams recounts the train ride that she and other recruits took on the way to Officer Candidate School.
“The trip was very pleasant, and there was lots and lots of conversation,” Adams said. “We talked about our families, our careers, and our patriotism.”
There was a commitment on the part of these women of the 6888th to do what was necessary for their country and many felt called to join in response to Pearl Harbor, Bradford said.
“They had an investment in the mission because they understood the end result was the morale of the American Soldier,” Bradford said.
Adams describes how grateful she was to the Army upon acceptance and for the chance to prove herself—to give her all for her country.
“Even with the knowledge that there were many other women receiving notices like mine, how special I felt!” Adams said. “Not that the Army had done me any favor by accepting me, but rather that the Army had gone to the trouble to find me and to want all that I had to offer.”
The Army had indeed given Adams the opportunity to be all she could be, and she turned that one acceptance letter into 17 million letters delivered and the highest rank possible to her in the WAC at the time—Lieutenant Colonel.
In February 2022, the 6888th was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for its work in Europe. In April 2023, Fort Lee was redesignated as Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Adams for their work as sustainment professionals.
In 2024, Tyler Perry’s major motion picture “Six Triple Eight” is expected to be released, telling the story of Adams and the unit she led.
Adams continues to inspire and build American morale almost a century after her decision to join the ‘I Want You for the U.S. Army’ movement.
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2024 09:34 |
| Story ID: | 466277 |
| Location: | FORT GREGG-ADAMS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Charity Adams joined the Army for the same reasons many do today—opportunities and adventure, by Chad Menegay, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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