Remembering trailblazer Sergeant First Class Bessie Lee Dunson Robinson

Speak her name Cincinnati’s own, Sergeant First Class Bessie Lee Dunson Robinson and the legacy of The SixTripleEight

History often forgets the ones who carried its weight who served in the shadows while others took the glory. But today, we remember. We honor and speak her name, Sergeant First Class Bessie Lee Dunson Robinson, a woman of duty, of resilience, and of unwavering strength.

But her story is not just about service. It is about family, perseverance, and the long journey of colored women moving toward opportunity not for recognition but for self-sufficiency and dignity.

When Paulette Dunson asked me to write about her beloved aunt Bessie who enlisted into the Army at 42 and was a member of the 6888th battalion I was immediately intrigued and honored. The timing felt almost divine as I had recently watched Tyler Perry’s Netflix film The Six Triple Eight, based on the 855 all-Black, all-female battalion who served with distinction in World War II.

I was already bursting with pride at the resilience of these women yet deeply saddened by the atrocities they endured. I could only imagine the hardship which Bessie and the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion faced. The women cleared a path so that colored women could become Negro, and today African American women who serve in every branch of the Armed Forces which were doors first opened by their sacrifice, strength, and silent courage.

Yet Brown, Black and tan women in the military are under attack even today, many still face barriers, exclusion, and erasure. Through my research, I discovered the wisdom and will power of the women of 6888th needed to survive segregation and war.  I saw the parallels that persist in 2025 for Black women and our communities today.

While I am humbled that God has given me the ability to write this story, the true credit belongs to Paulette Dunson, a devoted niece who embarked on a painstaking journey to preserve her aunt’s legacy. She sifted through records, traced family genealogy, and pieced together Aunt Bessie’s history ensuring that time would not silence her contributions to the United States of America.

Bessie was born in Richmond, Kentucky, one of nine children of Henry and Mattie Harris Dunson. The family migrated to Cincinnati, as confirmed by a 1910 Hamilton County census listing an 8-year-old Bessie Dunson. Moving across the Ohio River was more than a relocation; it was an act of faith and hope for a better life.

Faith was an essential part of Bessie’s life. Her family became active members of Bethel Baptist Church in Walnut Hills. A historic African American congregation that continues to serve the community. Even after enlisting and traveling the world, Bessie remained spiritually rooted in her church, continuing to give and walk in faith.

As a young woman, Bessie became a mother at age 16, giving birth to her son Harry Yancey, fathered by Vernon H. Yancey, who was 25 at the time. Bessie later married Ralph Robinson who worked for the railroad. Harry also served in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. 

In 1941, with World War II looming and the military short on personnel, Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers introduced a bill to create the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). 

Mary McCleod Bethune was not a formal member of the military, but she was a strategic force in 1941, lobbying, advising, and shaping policy to ensure that when the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps WAAC was formed, it would include African American women. Her efforts laid the groundwork for desegregated service in WWII.

It was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 14, 1942. The WAAC allowed women to serve in noncombat roles but without full military status.

That changed in 1943, when the WAAC became the WAC (Women’s Army Corps). Now women, including Black women, could serve as full soldiers with ranks, benefits, and uniforms. 

But the inclusion of Black women in the WAAC and later the WAC was no accident. It was the work of Mary McCleod Bethune and others as a civil rights leader, educator, and advisor to President Roosevelt. She was part of his unofficial “Black Cabinet” a group of trusted African American advisors, and a founding member of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) as well as a leadership role within the National Association Negro People (NAACP), and the National Urban League. Bethune’s and other pivotal organizations. Her gift was building coalitions.

Bethune especially worked closely with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to fight against racism in the military and war industries.

My question while watching the film was how did Black women find out about the opportunity to serve in the military? Like now they were recruited. Recruiters visited black schools, churches, and job centers, offering women military training, pay, and respect. Like life it worked both ways often white recruiters blocked the way, would discourage them or assign them to menial roles. Still, women like Bessie persisted, it was a chance to serve in the military, train, receive pay and respect.

In 1943, at age 42, Bessie Dunson Robinson traveled to New York City to enlist in the WAC. She was twice the age of many of her peers. By then, she had already lived a full life as a mother, a working woman, and a survivor of segregation. But she wasn’t done fighting.

In 1945, Robinson joined the legendary 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the “Six Triple Eight” the only all-Black, all-female unit deployed overseas during World War II. Led by Major Charity Adams, born in Columbia, South Carolina. She was an alumna of both Wilberforce, and Ohio State University. The 6888th Battalion departed from Camp Shanks, New York, in February 1945 aboard the SS Île de France. After a perilous Atlantic crossing, they arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, and traveled by train to Birmingham, England, where they began clearing 17 million pieces of undelivered mail, rotting in warehouses which threaten troop morale. They were given six months. They did it in three. Their motto? “No Mail, No Morale.”

Despite harsh conditions, segregation, and bomb-damaged cities, they succeeded where others failed. There were many trials for the women of the 6888th. There were also moments of beauty and honor that broke through the harshness of war. One such moment came in Rouen, France, on May 27, 1945, a week after the battalion had arrived in the city to continue their mission of clearing military mail backlogs.

In addition to being asked to participate in a parade to honor Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) a national heroine of France and a symbol of honor. For many, it was the first time they had been publicly honored while in uniform. For others like Bessie, it was also a deeply personal moment. Just days earlier, on May 20, 1945, she and others from her battalion had reunited in Rouen with family. Bessie was able spend time with her brother Joseph Dunson, who was also serving in the military. After four years apart, the siblings embraced on foreign soil an unforgettable reunion made possible by service, sacrifice, and providence.

Bessie’s service didn’t end with WWII. She chose to reenlist and serve through the Korean War, making her one of the rarer African American women to serve in both major 20th century conflicts under segregated and transitioning military systems. 

Sergeant First Class Bessie Lee Robinson she didn’t just witness military history she lived through two wars and helped shape the evolving role of African American women in the Armed Forces. 

In her later years, she resided in the U.S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home in Washington, D.C. After serving twenty years in the U.S. Army, she had earned both her rest and a place in history.

Sergeant First Class Bessie Lee Dunson Robinson August 3, 1901 – August 3, 1989, was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery, alongside her son, Staff Sergeant Harry Yancey, who died on July 4, 1968.

Belated honor and an eternal legacy. It took over 75 years for the nation to officially honor the women of the 6888th Battalion. In 2021, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a Democrat from Wisconsin, introduced legislation to formally honor the women of the 6888th with one of the nation’s highest civilian honors: the Congressional Gold Medal. Which received bi-partisan support. Moore, the first African American elected to Congress from her state, called the Six Triple Eight’s service “example of patriotism that must never be forgotten.”

On March 14, 2022, the 46th President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. signed the bill into law, officially awarding the Congressional Gold medal to the women of the 6888th. 

Bessie didn’t serve for glory. She didn’t need history to see her because she knew who she was. But now, we see her, now we honor her, now we lift her name. From her family, “Aunt Bessie, we are proud of you, and we salute you!”

“What are we fighting for” Mary McCleod Bethune.