'The Six Triple Eight' Ending Explained: Was the All-Female Battalion Really Saluted?

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Netflix's The Six Triple Eight.

Released on Dec. 20, 2024, on Netflix, The Six Triple Eight — written, directed, and co-produced by Tyler Perry — tells the story of Army Captain Charity Adams (Kerry Washington) leading the 6888th Battalion, the first all-Black, all-female unit to be sent oversees during the war. Their mission? To clear over 17 million backlogged letters during WWII, a task many doubted they could accomplish.

Amid challenges and resistance, the battalion works to deliver letters connecting soldiers with their families. Can Major Charity Adams and her team pull it off? If the ending left you confused (or you didn’t finish it), we’re breaking it all down.

In February 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, nicknamed "Six Triple Eight," was tasked with delivering millions of letters — many without proper addresses — within six months, according to Netflix. Despite facing sexism and segregation, the 855 women completed the mission in just 90 days. Bam!

At the end of The Six Triple Eight, the battalion returns from the war and is cheered on by white male soldiers who salute them for taking on a "suicide" mission that most would have abandoned after a few days. However, we regret to inform you that this uplifting scene didn’t happen in real life.

"That salute didn’t happen. It didn’t happen until many, many, many years later," Tyler shared during a screening of the film, which was also attended by TODAY. Essentially, the creative liberty he took honors the women’s selfless and heroic mission.

"So the liberty that I took at the end was having every one of them be saluted," He added, "They all are saluted as they walk in because they represent all 855 to me. And you see them walking through this door into a new life, into a new future."

It’s a heartfelt tribute to these trailblazing women, even though they weren't publicly recognized for their efforts immediately after WWII. In fact, it took years before any public events were held.

In 2009, an event at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery honored the women and their work and in 2021, legislation was passed by the U.S. Senate to award the women with a Congressional Gold Medal, and they received it in 2022, according to the Truman Library Institute.

Because recognition for their efforts came decades later, only six of the original 855 women were still alive to receive the medal.

Although the 6888th Battalion continued their mission after WWII, their numbers dropped to around 300 members. They continued on, sorting through the remaining undelivered mail in Paris. By 1946, however, the Six Triple Eight Battalion was officially disbanded at Fort Dix, N.J.

As of December 2024, only two members of the battalion, Fannie McClendon and Anna Mae Robertson, were still alive, according to People. Tyler Perry had the opportunity to meet Lena Derriecott King, also a member of the battalion, when she was 99 years old.

He discussed the real events with her, and she even got to watch a rough cut of the film before her passing in early 2024 at the age of 100, per TODAY.