Montgomery World War II veteran Romay Davis, oldest surviving member of the ‘Six Triple Eight’ battalion, dies at 104

Romay Davis, a Montgomery woman who received the 2021 Congressional Gold Medal as a member of an all-Black female battalion that served overseas during World War II, has died.

Davis, the oldest living member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – known as the “Six Triple Eight,” was 104 years old.

She died Friday in Montgomery, according to her obituary posted by Ross-Clayton Funeral Home.

“Romay was a beacon of inspiration throughout her vibrant and multifaceted life,” her obituary said.

In 2022, the city of Montgomery honored Davis after President Biden signed a bill authorizing the award of the Congressional Gold Medal for the unit, which is the subject of the Tyler Perry film “The Six Triple Eight” starring Kerry Washington and which will appear later. this year on Netflix.

Davis received a standing ovation and some in the crowd had tears in their eyes as she was presented with the medal and a war uniform to replace hers, which was stolen from a car shortly after she returned to the United States, the Associated Press reported at the time . .

“I never thought something like this would happen to me,” she said.

At age 102, Davis told the AP that the honor also belonged to others in her unit who were not alive to receive the recognition.

“I think it’s an exciting event, and it’s something that families will remember,” she said. ‘It’s not mine, only mine. No. It belongs to everyone.’

Davis served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion at a time when black women in the military were segregated by both gender and race. Nicknamed “Six Triple Eight,” Davis and her unit were part of the largest African American Women’s Army Corps unit to serve overseas during World War II.

Last year, Davis was honored at Alabama Media Group’s Women Who Shape The State event.

Col. Eries LG Mentzer, former commander of Maxwell Air Force Base and the first Black woman to serve in that role, delivered a keynote speech honoring Davis and two other women who also worked at Maxwell – Rosa Parks and Sharron Frontiero – who paved the way path who walked that path. enabled greater equality for women within the armed forces and beyond.

“On my toughest days as a commander at Maxwell – and there were some tough days – I would say, ‘If Miss Romay can do it under much less favorable circumstances than I can, then so can I,’” Mentzer said. “I am here today because of you, because you paid for my freedom to serve.”

Davis, born in Virginia, enlisted in 1943, following her five brothers.

Her unit, consisting of more than 800 black women, left for Europe in February 1945.

When they arrived in England, they faced a six-month postal backlog due to a shortage of soldiers at a time when postal service played a crucial role in morale.

“They relied on the post for people on the front lines to know why they were serving, and for people at home to know that the members who served on behalf of their freedom were still with us,” said Mentzer, who delivered the keynote speech for the event. “They relied on a piece of mail.”

Davis and the women in her unit worked 24/7 and processed an average of 195,000 pieces of mail per day, clearing the backlog in just three months. In June the unit moved to Rouen, France, where they served until the last members returned in February 1946.

“They sometimes had to work in very poor conditions, sometimes in the dark, so the enemy didn’t know when they were being asked, but they still showed up and did their duty,” Mentzer said, adding that the unit also faced racism and racism. sexism.

After serving in the Army, Davis had a career in fashion for thirty years, earning a black belt in the late 1970s and later working at Winn-Dixie in Montgomery for more than two decades. At the age of 100, she still worked five days a week.