September 22, 2025
Source/National Archives
Evelyn Preston LeSueuer was among the members of the 6888th Battalion, which was deployed to Europe during World War II to clear massive amounts of mail to American servicemen. Above, Maj. Charity Adams inspects the battalion in England during the war.
A Philadelphia woman who served the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II is getting a military headstone, more than a decade after her death.
Evelyn Preston LeSueuer was part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which worked to clear massive backlogs of mail to American servicemen. The Six Triple Eight, as it was dubbed, was the only Black unit within the Women's Army Corps deployed overseas during the war. It included several women from the Philly region, and was recently the subject of a Netflix movie starring Kerry Washington.
Though LeSueuer died in 2012, her grave at the SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield did not reflect her service. That is set to change Tuesday during a 3:30 p.m. dedication ceremony at the Delaware County burial ground.
LeSueuer is receiving a military marker through the Unmarked Grave Initiative, a project that aims to honor Black veterans in unmarked or improperly marked graves throughout Pennsylvania. It is spearheaded by the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference.
"This ceremony is both a tribute and a call to action," said Samantha Dorm, project coordinator for the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference's armed services and veteran affairs committee. "...We are committed to restoring the dignity of veterans like Evelyn Preston LeSueuer, whose service to this nation must never be forgotten. By honoring her, we honor the legacy of the Six Triple Eight and the countless contributions of African American veterans."
Evelyn Preston LeSueuer
LeSueuer was one of roughly 885 Black women who served in the unit, which deployed to Birmingham, England, in February 1945. Working out of an unheated airplane hangar, the group sorted through piles of backlogged mail and care packages in three months — half the time superiors expected. They later sailed to Rouen, France, shortly after VE Day. There, they cleared another mountain of mail in just three months.
After the war ended, LeSueuer worked at the Frankford Arsenal munitions plant in Bridesburg and enlisted in the Army Reserves. She was called up during the Korean War, deploying to Japan. Altogether, LeSueuer's military career spanned 22 years. She was a sergeant when she retired.
Her upcoming honor is part of a wider movement to recognize the work of the Six Triple Eight. The women who ran it received little acknowledgement for their service after the war. Their descendants and supporters have lobbied the federal government in recent years to honor them. The unit received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2022.
Dorm said the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference is working to secure markers or headstones for other members of the Six Triple Eight buried in Pennsylvania. Their records indicate 44 of the unit's veterans are interred in the state, well over half of them in Philadelphia, Delaware, Bucks, Chester and Berks counties.
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