225407 O'Dell Parker Carney United States Army Women's Army Corps from:Mount Airy, PA Served in Europe during World War II as part of a segregated black unit.
Mrs. Carney enlisted in the Army during World War II "because she wanted to represent her family in the military," said her son, Frank Carney.
"She also joined because her father was a veteran of World War I," he said.
In the Women's Army Corps (WACs), she was assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-African American and all-female battalion.
The 855 members of the unit were sent to Birmingham, England, and Rouen, France, where they sorted and delivered mail to U.S. troops. Mrs. Carney was stationed at both.
When the battalion arrived in Birmingham, members found letters stacked to the ceiling of the temporary post office. Much of the mail had been there for as long as two years.
Joseph Geeter, a spokesman for the Philadelphia chapter of Montford Point Marines, an organization preserving the legacy of the first African American Marines, said the work of these black women helped boost spirits among troops longing to hear from their loved ones at home.
The women in the battalion "took a lot of pride in getting that mail out," Geeter said. "Those letters really helped morale."
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