Today’s post is by Cara Moore Lebonick, Archivist at the National Archives at St. Louis
Three of the four women interred at Normandy-American Cemetery and Memorial as a result of World War II deaths were members of a Women’s Air Corps (WAC) unit commonly called The Six Triple-Eight. The 6888th Central Postal Directory was directed to Europe on February 3, 1945, where they entered the warzone for the first time. The unit was stationed in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England and the full unit activated on March 4, 1945, under Organization Order No. 147, according to Morning Reports.
Their first assignment was to sort and send out accumulated mail both incoming, to those at war, and outgoing. After successfully clearing out a backlog of undelivered mail at their first station in England, the unit was sent to France. It was here that Private First Class Mary J. Barlow, Sergeant Dolores M. Browne, and Private First Class Mary H. Bankston were killed in a vehicle accident. Their families were alerted, and the bodies remained overseas during the war.
A standard Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) provides details and material collected and created by the Army regarding deaths of individuals under the purview of the US Army. These records may contain lists of deceased individuals, certificates of death, autopsy reports, descriptions of the cause of death, necessary investigations and attempts to locate and/or identify remains, lists of personal effects, medical records, and information on funeral arrangements and payment of benefits to the next-of-kin. During wartime, burials were limited while the war efforts continued. When families were contacted regarding repatriation and final internment preferences for the body after the war, that correspondence was also filed with the IDPF. Updates on the progression of the burial details from temporary to permanent can be found within these records, whether they remained buried overseas or were returned stateside.
Often, IDPFs contain handwritten correspondence from loved ones. Though the IDPFs for Barlow, Browne, and Bankston do not have any such letters, they do contain communications regarding the manner in which next of kin were contacted and updated on the burial status of their loved ones. In the course of war, many service members went missing or were killed and buried behind enemy lines or on a battlefield with little time or resources to collect more than sparse identifying details of the deceased. This was not the case for these three WACs, who died in service to their country and to their fellow service members—through their efforts to connect them with their mail.
Communications about their internments include: “customary funeral services,” “fitting dignity,” and “sincere sympathy” to describe the report of internment and state of the grave(s). This language provided solid information on the resting whereabouts to family members at home, dependent on war correspondence.
All personal effects of the deceased were shipped to the next of kin and listed in the IDPF, in addition to the repatriation and final internment details. Details like these can provide a snapshot into who these individuals were beyond their service. Browne’s possessions include many music-based objects. Bankston seemed to prefer photography to keep her company. Barlow was prepared for life with a sword and New Testament among her effects.
The Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) of the three members of The 6888th who died in France were affected by the 1973 National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) fire, but IDPFs can provide some details of their service. From the IDPFs we are able to learn their names, service numbers, ranks achieved, and location. We also learn next of kin, religious preference, and final resting place. It may not be their entire story, but it can illuminate and confirm details of their service to the country.
These soldiers worked tirelessly to get communications into the hands of addressees. Thanks to the systems they established, personal letters and administrative correspondence could flow through mail service more efficiently. One of the most common items listed on the Record of Personal Effects found within IDPFs is letters. Be it a letter from a friend, beau, or family member, these were clearly prized possessions. Thanks to the efforts of Barlow, Browne, and Bankston and the 6888th Central Postal Directory, these messages reached their loved ones. Their sacrifice to the war was the ultimate price, and they were honored among their fellow soldiers killed in service.
For more information on the 6888th, see The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion and the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) in World War II, by Rachael Salyer.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) digitized the IDPFs, and the files will be added to the National Archives Catalog. The textual records are available in the research room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please contact stl.archives@nara.gov for more information on how to access these records.
(Non-STL) Moving Images-