The Six Triple Eight - From paper to the screen
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- Опубліковано 6 січ 2025
- The Six Triple Eight - From paper to the screen
With Kevin Hymel
Part of our Women in WWII series
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Tyler Perry's movie about the 6888 Central Postal battalion is currently a hit on Netflix. In today's show, WW2TV regular Kevin Hymel will talk about how the article he penned about WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott was the basis for the film.
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Kevin's previous appearances on WW2TV
Patton in Sicily
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Task Force Benson - Beyond El Guettar - General Patton's Offensive
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Patton's War - General Patton in WW2
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The Battle for Mayenne, Normandy (90th Division)
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What a great interview, thanks to both of you for sharing this with us.
Fascinating story, both how the movie came about and the 6888 unit.
Really sorry to hear about the negative comments, this is the history we need and want!
Keep up the great work Paul.
I had difficulty accepting that I was part of the peacetime military until a civilian friend pointed out that I would have gone anywhere and done anything if we had transitioned to not peacetime. And she was right.
Saddened to hear that there were some poor comments. I thought that their story was very interesting and how these ladies volunteerd to go abroad and served their country quite inspiring. The morale of a front line soldier relied on receiving mail quickly and to learn about that was interesting. These ladies served their country in wartime deserves respect and for that story to be told. I also thought Kevin did that very well. History should be inclusive as the Allied cause was not just one Race or gender it was a massive effort by all and all deserve their place on history. More of the same please would rather have a balanced, educated view that you work hard to bring to us.
My daughter is in the US Army now. She enjoys seeing non-combat MOS’ getting credit. Everyone contributes. Not everyone is with the 101st at Bastogne
Well done Gents, more stories like this need to be told. I watched the movie before I watched this piece, great movie, great story now a great interview
Getting a letter/box from home is the most morale lifting event one can experience. Thanks to all the postal folk.
I never heard of this movie or the story but I am watching it directly after seeing this on UA-cam.
How logistics in all ist form is the backbone of a war to win if it is done right and to lose if it is done wrong.
Sorry I missed this live Woody. Just watching it now over a brew and loving it.
The sacrifice is joining the military in the first place. You join with the understanding that you could be sent to do anything, anywhere, under any conditions. Women included. The fact that some happened to be sent off to the jungle and others are sent to do administrative tasks is irrelevant to the fact that you have committed to do whatever your country needs of you. It’s a very special contribution no matter what your service entailed, and it deserves to be honored. And black men and women repeatedly demonstrated their worth to the whole country during that war. At a time when it was sorely needed. So to those who think their service is somehow less meaningful or important- bugger off.
What a moving story. As for the commenter who says they "just" needs to remember that very few people who were "just" in a war. Everyone had a contribution, without which none of it could have gone forward.
Wonderful interview! This movie is definitely on the list.
I would love to see more stories like this. So many war movies have a “mail call” scene but nothing to explain the difficulties of getting the mail there. Somewhat like the infantry calling in artillery without anything on how it actually happens.
I knew this. Great episode!
I’d like to see a new ‘Red Ball Express’ movie or one about the 442nd Niisei Infantry Regiment portrayed in ‘Go For Broke’. WW2 has such a rich tapestry to draw from.
have you seen Go for Broke? We covered it a few years ago, with some of the crew
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@@WW2TVI have it on DVD
@ I will check it out. Thanks. I’m 58. Was raised watching all of the old WW2 movies on UHF channels as a kid. British movies, too.
I mean the modern version from 2021 not the old 50s one with Van Johnson
Saw this movie over Christmas without knowing a thing about it in advance. Thanks for having Kevin on and providing such a wealth of detail on the backstory. I was OK with the WW I trenches. No opinion on Patton.
These extraordinary ladies served bravely in the front lines of mail-sorting rooms from 194-1945.
Superb stuff. Thank you.
Thank you Woody and Kevin for this presentation. Will give the movie a go, so thank you for covering this topic Woody. Thank you both for presenting a part of the war that is overlooked
Despite my criticisms, I have to give Tyler Perry credit for trying for war drama. The core was good. Good acting.
An important piece of history. It was not just white boys from Texas, tommies or diggers who won the war. It took an immense effort by such a various collection of creeds, heritages and backgrounds that world has never seen before.
Quite right. This actually got me thinking about the issue of waste management. I don't think anyone wants that crappy job, but it's essential for the health of an army. I wonder if anyone has examined / written about that in any detail?
Kevin writes like he talks. He is a gas. Another good one.
Thanks Guys it was a pleasure to enjoy a presentation of such positivity. Now I know what to watch next on Netflix. I love the “dry” history, but need the liberal arts perspective also to help keep my understanding grounded in the human experience.
I'll never see the film, but I'm fascinated by the 6888, and never thought of how soldiers' mail got to them during the war.
I wish you'd do an episode on the 6888 instead of just interviewing an historian about the film.
We have already done an episode about the real 6888
Thanks Paul and Kevin enjoyed that. I had some criticisms of the film but I take the points that you and Kevin made so well. I'm going to rewatch the film in a minute - the jeep didn't bother me one bit btw.
Great episode. I thought the film underplayed the success of the 6888, they seemed to be failing right up close to the end. Still a good film. Ignore the trolls who’s personal prejudice causes them cognitive dissonance when faced with reality.
I was delighted to hear Kevin was able to get some subtle historical facts into the movie by winning the trust of the director through his research. The story of the 6888th should be told. Could it have been told a bit better through the movie, especially how the unit solves the 6 month backlog (an achievement that puts a stake through that heart of the Jim Crow ideology governing the army) - probably.
But the film gets people talking & debating about history, and that's always a good thing.
Having worked for the postal service delivering mail, I didn't see anything unusual about the task that would warrant spending more time on how the backlog was dealt with, other than what was covered in the movie. The amount of mail backed up is what you would expect from a large-volume system when it breaks down -- in this case, because of not devoting the necessary resources to keep it going. As with any undertaking, having a good team with the necessary resources under excellent leadership will get difficult jobs done. This probably does not describe previous efforts until the 6888 were assigned to it. What they accomplished in the face of such disgraceful efforts to make them fail, is most admirable.
Patton is fine as a subject. Can I ask for a redo of Audie Murphy’s story as well? I know he dialed back some of what he did. He didn’t think people would believe it.
We watched it the other day. Wanted more ‘how they sorted the mail’ and less ‘struggling against the man’. It was ok.
Having worked for the postal service delivering mail, I didn't see anything that would warrant spending more time than they did, showing how the mail was sorted. I did appreciate the movie depicting the creative ways the women came up with for dealing with the everyday challenges of delivering mail not legibly/suitably addressed.
When mail delivery systems with large volumes break down, they rapidly back up. Applying mail sortation and systems management normal for that time, along with the necessary resources, takes care of the backlog. If management and resources applied are inadequate in any way, the effort will take much longer or fail.
If the 6888 were given the resources and support a White unit would have been accustomed to in similar circumstances, it wouldn't have been a story worthy of a feature film. But that didn't happen. Because they were Black, the racists in the Army couldn't allow them the chance to succeed on an even playing field. It would give the lie to the idea that Blacks were inferior / incapable, even in a role that the 6888 women themselves initially thought was unimportant.
That "struggle against the man" is the essential point of the movie. And if it comes across as overbearing and uncomfortable, it should. To see how these women succeeded in the face of such disgusting treatment from their own side, is highly admirable. That this took place during the fight against the Nazis, speaks to the absolute hypocrisy of those like the General Halt character.
Also the opening battle scene…I get the budget, but I thought it was a badly staged training exercise. Only after did I realize it was supposed to be a real battle. Was not expecting Omaha Beach, but it looked like too close trenches in WW1. Better to leave it out.
This was a really interesing interview I actually have been a bit reticent to watch the movie, Netflix imo has done some pretty sketchy historical documentaries and dramad, but I'm looking forward to the movie now.
Unfortunate that you got nasty comments. I know a popular YT movie reviewer gave it a scathing 'woke rubbish' rating, sounds like you arr seeing parroting of this stuff.
Me and the wife watched it the other day. Can't say I was a fan. The opening battle scene was unrealistic and the relationship between the main protagonist and her pilot boyfriend was kinda odd, especially how he kept showing up in mirrors, etc. But as usual real life is more fascinating than Hollywood's take, and let's be honest, delivering a backlog of 17 million pieces of mail in 90 days with the issues they faced was monumental. The US did logistics better than anybody and despite what racist clowns like jbuckley2546 think it was African Americans who did a shit-ton of those logistics. Deal with it, jbuckley. Sorry your side lost, my man.
As I said to Kevin, I preferred the movie when it stuck to the story of the unit, because the attempts at showing the wider war were clunky. But as we also said, the movie is made for a wide general audience, not for war history buffs. It wasn't perfect, but I give it a solid 7.5/10
PURE FICTION
What is pure fiction? Are you trolling? The 6888 story is very real
@@WW2TV So they sorted some mail. So what, woke nonsense and you call yourself a historian, open your eyes.
Well, I disagree, I thought it was a fine effort
Well aren't you a delight. Read any veterans memoir and you'll immediately understand the importance of mail during a war
@@WW2TV I've read hundreds, you're missing the point.