Jump to: Oral History Interview (Audio) | Explore the Full Collection

“I guess I got tired of waiting”

Essie Woods and both of her sisters felt a great deal of patriotic fervor after World War II broke out, and all three of them ended up enlisting in the WAC on the same day. When asked during her oral history interview with Sarah McLennan in 2002 why she had enlisted, Woods responded:

“Well, I guess I got tired of waiting. I’m originally from Augusta, Georgia, and we had Camp Gordon and the airfield there. And we did a lot—there’s three sisters of us in my family—and we did a lot of USO work. And then they sent some colored officers around to enlist some women. And I guess we got patriotic, carried away, and we enlisted. So that’s really how—it was just that feeling of wanting to do something.”

“One of my sisters was in her last year of college, and she went off on the weekend, and when she came back we had planned to enlist then, both of us. We were just fifteen months different in our age, we were like twins. And when she came back home on the weekend we had planned to do this she said, “Oh no, you’re not going to leave me, I’m going, too!” My mother had to sign her in because she should have been older [to enlist].”

“We all went down to Camp Stewart to take our exams and whatnot, and would you know I was the only one that didn’t pass, because I was underweight. And I came back home, my mother was so happy! But I was so sad, until in a month’s time the whole neighborhood—even the grocery store—helped me gain fifteen pounds. And I went back and I got in on that second try – they gave me a month to get my weight up.” (Audio interview, 0:35)

Despite the three sisters’ enthusiasm and the support of their neighbors, Woods remembers that her mother was initially reluctant to see her daughters join the military:

“Most people in those days felt that girls should not—well, they had a different idea, they thought girls were going to entertain the fellows. And society had a problem with that. And my mother was upset, because she thought that would be a mark on our character. But her friends assured her, “Now, you raised them right, and they’re going to take up with the same kind of people they had in civilian life, they’re going to take up with those kind of people up when they get in service.”” (Audio interview, 2:40)

Woods’ youngest sister Tessie would also go on to serve in the 6888th, and the two sisters would remain inseparable even after the war, when they moved to Detroit together.

Basic Training - Fort Des Moines

Woods’ experiences at basic training were difficult in a variety of ways – some that would be familiar to any military recruit, and some that were unique to women of the World War II era.

“[Basic training] was the worst of my experience, because I had never been used to anybody yelling at me, and I hadn’t done anything! That was just the way they were tough on you. And of course, the clothes didn’t fit because they didn’t have—they had not been prepared for women.” (Audio interview, 3:52)

“And of course we had the old shoes that the men were wearing, big shoes and whatnot that didn’t fit. The overcoats were dragging on the ground almost, it was terrible! [laughs] … But that was a part of the training, they were molding you all the time. And we finally got into the kind of people that they thought were ready to be sent out into the field.” (Audio interview, 5:02)

“An honor” to be selected

Essie Woods underwent administrative training after basic training, and was then assigned to manage medical records in the base hospital at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. A segment of her company would later constitute part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

“When they brought the German prisoners in to Camp Forrest, that’s when they deactivated our company, we were split up and sent all over. And of course, they had in mind the ones that they had in mind for overseas duty, and we didn’t even know it. And of course, part of my company was sent down to Oglethorpe, Georgia. And then we realized what it was all about, it was preparing us for overseas duty. And that was tough training, but it was necessary.” (Audio interview, 7:15)

Her commanding officer at Camp Forrest was Captain Noel Campbell, who would later become executive officer of the 6888th. It was Campbell who selected Woods for deployment with the 6888th—despite the fact that Woods had not volunteered for it.

“[There] was a list of girls that were selected for overseas duty. And I said, “I didn’t sign up for any overseas duty!” That hadn’t even come into my mind! So I went in to my commanding officer and I asked her how did my name get up there, and she said, “I selected the girls that I would like to go overseas with me.” She was Captain Noel Campbell, and she was our commanding officer, and she was selected to go overseas. In fact, she was second in command of our battalion when we went overseas. So I said, “Well, since you selected me I guess it wouldn’t be nice of me to back out because I didn’t volunteer.” But I was glad I did, and I thought it was an honor for her to think that much of me.” (Audio interview, 7:57)

“War is a terrible thing”

The 6888th’s closest brush with combat came on the voyage by sea to Britain, during which the battalion’s transport ship, the Ile de France, was pursued by a German U-boat.

“That Ile de France was a fast ship, and they outmaneuvered them. But we didn’t realize how dangerous—I tell everybody, war is a terrible thing and we should never want to experience it. But you are never aware of your danger when you are involved, you don’t realize how dangerous it is. But we were lucky, you know - just lucky.” (Audio interview, 10:19)

In France, the members of the battalion also came face-to-face with the destruction that the war had wreaked on the French landscape and the French people:

“Oh, terrible. Le Havre was the worst place that I had ever seen, and that’s when it really hit me. When our folks landed in Le Havre, we were going over to Rouen. And to see a whole city leveled—just leveled—it was just heartbreaking. So that really got to us when we saw that. The other places were mostly just in spots. And then the people, they seemed to—just the little necessities that we’d taken for granted, they didn’t have. And they were so grateful if you gave it to them - just our rations, you know?” (Audio interview, 26:04)

In addition to witnessing the horrors of a war zone, the members of the 6888th had to contend with the fact that many of their colleagues did not want them there—at least at first. When asked what it was like working in a primarily male environment, Woods responded:

“Well, that was something that you had to get adjusted to, because men did have a feeling that you should not be there. So you had to get used to the idea that you were not their favorite. But overseas, I will say that those various battalions that were over there, they did entertain us and invited us out to dinners at their place. They were nice to us, after they got used to the idea - it just might have took them a little while.” (Audio interview, 16:00)

Lessons in Leadership

Many veterans of the 6888th cite the key role that the battalion’s leadership played in both gaining the respect of the military establishment and maintaining the battalion’s morale. Woods recalled that she was "very close" with executive officer Captain Campbell, and also thought highly of Major Adams:

“She was a very protective person—and really we admired them—because they were so concerned about all of our needs. And we could always go to them - they were not distant. We had other officers over each company, we had four companies, but you could always go to the office if you had any real complaints, they were not distant from you.” (Audio interview, 17:33)

In her own right, Essie Woods was a reluctant leader initially – she had no interest in becoming an officer as she did not want to have to leave her friends. Her officers saw leadership potential in her, however, and promoted her to become a staff non-commissioned officer.

“I had never aspired to be—really anything—they always called me the lazy type. I didn’t try to be anything, I really didn’t want to be a staff sergeant, but they said, “Okay, you’re going to go to work - yes, you.”

“And they put me to work. And I do a lot of volunteer work now, because I know that [mentality] isn’t right, but I had never been the kind that wanted to initiate doing anything.” (Audio interview, 28:15)

The leadership skills that were awakened by her time in the 6888th allowed Woods to impact future generations of African American military women as well. She was a long-time member of the National Association of Black Military Women, and expressed great pride in seeing later generations of African American women climb the ranks in the military. She urged them to focus on their goals, without losing sight of the history of struggle that made their position possible:

“We came from an era that the young people today could not understand - we expected [discrimination], it wasn’t—we knew—but we also knew that we had to be the best that we could be in order to prove ourselves, and that’s what we strived for.” (Audio interview, 34:01)

“Yeah, we’ve come a long way, definitely. The young people have really—and the only thing I tell ‘em is to remember where you came from, and where you’re going - that’s the main thing to remember, don’t take it for granted.” (Audio interview, 34:24)

Woods passed away External in 2012 just a few days before her 98th birthday.