✍🏾: @tiff.chey
At the golden age of 102 as a living legend, Romay Davis was one of the women who took part in the “six-triple eight” in the 6888th central postal directory battalion.
Davis has been awarded the congressional gold medal for her service during world war II. She stated, “I think it’s an exciting event, and it’s something for families to remember… It’s everybody’s.”
Davis received her award at an event held at the Montgomery city hall in Alabama. She received her medal citation and a wartime uniform to acknowledge her part in breaking barriers for women. She was a part of something made up of strong black women making things happen and doing what needed to be done.
She and her fellow members solved the military’s postal problems by working through hardships and even being mistreated and discriminated against.
Davis, and five other surviving members of the iconic battalion, will also receive medals and commemoration events given their advanced years, allowing them to be adequately honored for the greatness they contributed to history.
The unit worked three shifts a day, seven days a week, under grimy conditions at the warehouses to achieve their goal while sticking to the motto “No Mail, Low Morale.”
“We all had to be broken in, so to speak, to do what had to be done,” said Davis, who mainly worked as a motor pool driver. “The mail situation was in such horrid shape they didn’t think the girls could do it. But they proved a point.”
After leaving the war, Davis created a life for herself in New York, where she married and dedicated 30 years to the fashion industry. Then retiring to Alabama, she still managed to keep active. She earned a martial arts black belt and worked at a grocery store in Montgomery in her late 70’s up until she was 101living her life, showing that if you believe in yourself and put in the work, it doesn’t matter if other people doubt you. #BWLM💕
