BY VALADA FLEWELLYN, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony was held in honor of the “Six Triple Eight” Central Postal Directory Battalion of World War II.
The battalion was given the massive task of getting the United States mail to the soldiers on the field. The Six Triple Eight battalion skillfully organized a system that allowed delivery of the long-delayed mail, which served to boast the soldiers moral and significantly contributed to the ultimate victory.
The ceremony was held in Emancipation Hall at the United States Capital. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor awarded by congress and is used to recognize individuals or groups that have made a significant impact to American history and culture.
There were a total of 855 Black Women in the battalion. The first name on the Florida list is Edna Cross Burton, Sanford, Florida. Edna and Ulysses Burton were the founders of the Burton Funeral Home currently operating as the Sunrise Funeral Home in Sanford. Burton’s daughter, Ingrid Burton Nathan made history as the first Black student to integrate the Seminole County Public Schools. Nathan and her family traveled to Washington, DC to receive the medal on behalf of her mother. Ingrid found out about her mother being a member of the battalion only after seeing the Tyler Perry movie and noticing her mother’s name in the credits. Her mother passed away when she was 5 years old, and she was never told much about her. She remembered seeing the photo of her mother in uniform but not until the movie did, she make the connection. Fortunately, she found out in time to represent her mom at the Medal of Honor Ceremony. Only two of the 855 women are alive today. The medal was presented formally to the family of the battalion commander Charity Adams.
Another Florida resident, Dorothy Eugenia Turner Johnson was among those honored at the ceremony. Johnson was not a native of Florida, she was from Ohio. She moved to Florida after retiring as a librarian and lived here until her death in 2015 at the age of 100. Johnson was responsible for founding the first library (a volunteer library) in Celebration Florida. She founded the first chapter of The Central Florida Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which disbanded and was revived in 2017 by Karen Adamopoulos and named The Dorothy Turner Johnson Branch. The mission of ASALH is to promote, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community.
Of the 855 Black women in the battalion the following were from Florida: Burton, Edna Cross T5; Clayton, Gladys Selucia SGT; Cosey, Beatrice PFC; Duncan, Thelma Ann PVT; Everett, Ruby Leania PVT; Fayson, Jennie Lee PVT; Flanagan, Burnadine PFC; Godboldte, Jessie Lee CPL; Greenlee, Sarah L PVT; Hutchins, Dena M SSG; Jackson, Florida Bell PVT; Lamb, Elizabeth Ola PFC; Little, Fannie Boyd SSG; Lowe, Josie M PVT; Mackey, Marion CPL; Rodriguez, Erma Louise PVT; Singleton, Dannie M CPL; Smith, Elaine O SSG; Smith, Florita Davis PFC; Smith, Geneva Iona PVT; Watts, Essie M T5; Williams, Willie Mae PVT; Wingo, Ethel Mae PFC. (womenof6888th.org)
Ingrid Burton Nathan will be bringing home Congressional Gold Medals for both Dorothy T. Johnson and for her mother, Edna Cross Burton.
Valada Flewellyn is historian for the Dorothy Turner Johnson Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
