Is ‘The Six Triple Eight’ Based on a True Story? All the Facts Surrounding the WWII Film

On Dec. 20, 2024, Tyler Perry's film, The Six Triple Eight, debuted on Netflix. The film, starring Kerry Washington and Eboni Obsidian, is Tyler's first war drama and follows an all-Black and all-female battalion that served in the U.S. Army during World War II. The story is specifically unique, as few war movies highlight the Black woman's experience during that era.

The Six Triple Eight is a story Tyler knew he wanted to tell and share, a piece of Black history that may have been overlooked. However, many film viewers weren't sure if the movie was based on real characters or one of the directors' period pieces, a la his 2022 movie, A Jazzman's Blues, also available on Netflix. So, is The Six Triple Eight based on a true story? Here's everything to know.

The Six Triple Eight is based on a true story. The battalion the movie focuses on, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, was a real military unit and was the only one made up of Black women in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) sent to Europe during World War II. The unit was nicknamed "The Six Triple Eight," hence the movie's title.

LT. Col Charity Adams, who Kerry portrays in the film, was the leader of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion and was the first Black woman to be commissioned into the WAC. Charity spent her early years as a schoolteacher in North Carolina before joining the WAC. In February 1945, Charity led the 6888th's 855 members, all Black women, overseas to deliver 17 million pieces of undelivered mail in Europe and ensuring it was delivered to U.S. soldiers.

In the film, The Six Triple Eight, Kerry, as Charity, stresses the importance of the 6888th's assignment to her soldiers. At the time, the letters were the only way the soldiers could communicate with their loved ones and had been backlogged for two years.

"Ladies, we have been ordered to provide hope,” the actor said. “The soldiers have not heard from their loved ones, and their loved ones have not heard from them.”

Kerry's message in the film coincided with the 6888th's real-life motto, "No mail, low morale." During their time in Europe, the 6888th soldiers were expected to finish their task in six months. Though it was under unkempt conditions, they surpassed expectations and achieved the task in 90 days.

The women worked in cold, dirty, dark, rat-infested aircraft hangars with broken windows. Additionally, they had to decipher whose mail belonged to whom, as many of the letters were addressed to names such as Robert Smith, and some just to Junior, US Army.

Although The Six Triple Eight is based on a true story, the movie doesn't cover much of what happened to the real-life women who made history during that time. In an interview with Blavity, Kerry and Eboni told the outlet that many of the women struggled to get by after serving their country and were rumored to have been "sent overseas just to be concubines for the Black soldiers." Due to the stigma, many of the 855 women didn't discuss their experiences publicly.

Despite the hard road back home, all women were acknowledged on 6888th's website. Sadly, most of them have died, and there are only two remaining battalion members who are still alive. Charity died on Jan. 13, 2002, at the age of 83. As of this writing, Fannie Griffin McClendon and Anna Mae Robertson are the remaining members. However, Lena Derriecott King, who Eboni played in the film, saw a screener of the movie before she died on Jan. 18, 2024.