Episode 108: Remarkable Creatures

The first time we met, and happily not the last, Margaret and Everett Jones were at a friend’s party. Everett, a tall, handsome black man of about 65, was perched on the back of the sofa, telling tall tales. His wife Margaret, a tiny woman a little older than Everett, was perched on the sofa arm, filling in the gaps in his story, which wasn’t a tall tale after all.

They had both served in World War II, ultimately as majors, and each had their own ‘adventures’ as black members of the U.S. Army. Margaret was perhaps more well-known as she and other black women officers tackled a tremendous job in England with their battalion.

But first things first. When Margaret first met Everett, she didn’t like him. Thought he was too full of himself. It was several years before they got together, this time for real.  They were married for 47 years.

When Margaret was Second Lieutenant Barnes, she and her company of black women were consistently assigned stateside to clean out latrines, wash floors, and help with laundry. Margaret complained to a superior officer (White?  I don’t know) and continued to advocate for better assignment for the women under her command.

Margaret's 6888 Battalion

Finally, Margaret, 32 other Black officers, and the 800 women of the 6888th Battalion, found themselves in England. Their orders were top secret and couldn’t be opened until their plane was in the air. They were assigned to the postal unit. At first perplexed, the women soon learned that mountains of mail were moldering in aircraft hangars; over three million parcels alone had to be delivered to soldiers in Europe. Families had sent cakes and cookies which had drawn their own battalion of rats, some as big as cats.

The operation had been run by enlisted men and civilians and was in utter chaos. Soon Margaret and the women of her battalion realized how important this job was to the morale of the servicemen fighting in Europe and elsewhere.

Margaret and her battalion worked round the clock on this mountainous problem, averaging 65,000 pieces of mail a shift. They managed to clean out the place in three months. They were responsible for redirecting mail to more than seven million people.

Margaret became one of the first African American women commissioned as an officer in the

Women’s Army Corps. She retired as a major.

Soon: Everett helps in his signature way