Madeleine Coleman Roach papers

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This collection contains photographs, diaries, a memory book, a prayer book, witness reports, scrapbook pages, photographs, certificates, newsletters, telegrams, menus, and ephemera belonging to Madeleine Coleman Roach during her service in the U.S. Women's Army Corps in the Second World War.

Of historical significance, Coleman was among the 855 Black women who served overseas in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in England and France who were hired to clear up the backlog of mail to the World War II soldiers and officers.

Coleman was from New York City and enlisted in the Army at age twenty-three on January 1, 1943. She entered active service in September 1943 and was promoted to Corporal. She was trained in Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and moved around the country to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and Camp Sibert, Alabama, before heading overseas in 1945. Included is her Separation Qualification Record proving that she served overseas in England and France with the 6888th Postal Directory Service. Included is a photograph of her commanding officer Colonel Charity Adams.

Her wartime diary features excerpts from her daily life in training, office and field work in the Army from 1943-1944. She writes about her exhaustion from overworking, her anxieties about army inspections,her private thoughts on the harsh treatment of Black women in the Corps, most especially during her time in Alabama. She also writes about her boyfriend, John Roach who was also in the Army. In addition to her duties, she describes her social life of dates and dances in the Service Club. The diary does not describe her work overseas in England and France in the 6888th Postal Service Directory. She would marry her boyfriend and fellow soldier, John Roach, while abroad in Roen, France.

She also describes her experiences with racism in the southern culture at Camp Sibert, Alabama, particularly from white women or as she called them, Southern crackers. She also describes the discrimination against women in the service. She encourages herself with endearing sayings such as "what's next for you little girl".

Of interest is an entry in her diary where she mentions that she had witnessed girls in the army who were in love with each other. She recorded that she never would have known about women having intimate relationships with women if it had not been for the army.

There are about thirty-five photos depicting Madeleine's service, showing women in uniform, many in Rouen and the French Riviera, and an identification photograph from her time as a hostess for the Harlem Defense Recreation Center. There are also documents of John Roach's military service in Texas, Italy, and at army bases in the South Pacific.

Coleman's "Memory Book" discusses the locations of her army service and her thoughts on the various places she lived and worked during her war. It includes signatures and messages from fellow soldiers.

Of particular note are three leaves of typescript, two of which are signed by WAC members. They contain the witness statements of Privates Roberta McKenzie and Gladys Blackmon and detail the abuse suffered at the hands of the police when they refused to give up their seats at the back of the bus for white people. The incident was referenced in a 1947 United States Senate hearing on the treatment of Black military members.

There are two complete and four partial issues of the camp newsletter "Special Delivery", which was created by the women of the 6888th Central Post Battalian in France. There are two 6888th church services programs, and a 1944 Thanksgiving menu from Camp Sibert, Alabama. Under miscellaneous there are some shorthand exams that Madeleine Coleman passed. She and her husband were stenographers during the war.