The Six Triple Eight: From History to Heritage

Retired Army Colonel Edna W. Cummings joins us to talk about her life and memoir, "A Soldier's Life," which chronicles her unlikely but successful path to leadership in the army and after retirement. The memoir also tells the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the Six Triple Eight, a trailblazing African American World War II Women’s Army Corps, and the grassroots campaign Cummings led to honor them. 

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A Fayetteville, NC, native and Army brat, Col. Edna Cummings is a distinguished alumnus of Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, and the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program whose 25-year Army career included influential assignments at Georgetown University, the Pentagon, and NORAD/USNORTHCOM. After retiring, she continued her leadership in homeland security and information technology roles and now serves as Vice President of Windsor Group, LLC and an Army Reserve Ambassador for Maryland. A dedicated advocate for honoring the all-Black WWII Women’s Army Corps unit known as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, she played a pivotal role in securing the Six Triple Eight Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 and co-produced two documentaries highlighting their legacy.

Col. Cummings holds advanced degrees from Troy State University and the U.S. Army War College and has earned numerous prestigious honors, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, induction into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame, the NAACP’s Jesse Brown Distinguished Leadership Award, and recognition as a 2023 Trailblazer by the Center for Women Veterans. Her memoir, A Soldier’s Life: A Black Woman’s Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion, was released by the University of Virginia Press in 2025. Her continued work, leadership, and advocacy have made her a nationally recognized changemaker and a powerful voice in preserving military and African American history.