FREEDOM TO SERVE AND THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT
FEATURING COL. ERIES L.G. MENTZER
Thursday, March27, 2025
6 p.m. Wine Reception | 6:30 p.m. (CT) Program
Online and Onstage | Live from Kansas City, Missouri
Captain Charity Adams drilling her battalion, the Six Triple Eight (National Archives)
President Truman’s support of women’s rights is a lesser-known area of his progressive leadership. He voiced support for the concept of the Equal Rights Amendment. He signed into law the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, enabling women to serve as permanent, regular members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the recently formed Air Force. This not only paved the way for thousands of women’s military careers, it guaranteed equal pay—something civilian women are still fighting for.
In addition, President Truman was interested in nominating a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, a full three decades before Sandra Day O’Connor. While he was discouraged from making the step—the sitting justices were concerned that the presence of a woman would negatively impact their deliberations—he did install more than 200 women in high-level positions during his presidency, a remarkable record for a president born in rural, southern Missouri in 1884.
Between 1945 and 1952, Truman named 18 women to positions requiring Senate confirmation. Of these, nine were jobs never before held by a woman. The historic firsts included Helen Eugenie Moore Anderson, the first woman appointed to U.S. Ambassador; Burnita Shelton Matthews, the first woman to serve on a U.S. District Court; Edith Spurlock Sampson, the first Black woman appointed to the United Nations; Frieda Barkin Hennock, America’s first female commissioner of the FCC; and Anna Marie Rosenberg, the first woman appointed to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense
The fourth installment of our popular Women Rising series will focus its lens on another first: the Six Triple Eight. The 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion was the only unit of mostly-Black American women to be sent overseas during the Second World War. The battalion’s exemplary service and valor helped inspire President Truman to take two significant steps in the journey towards equal rights: Executive Order 9981 desegregating the U.S. military and the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act.
To tell their story, Women Rising will bring to the stage another history maker—Col. Eries L.G. Mentzer, the first Black woman to command Maxwell Airforce Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Featured Guest
ERIES METNZER is an Air Force veteran with over 25 years of military service. A wife, mother, and self-described “Status Quo Challenger,” she has persisted as often the first, only, or one of the few Black or female leaders in her formations.
She is among an elite collective of military officers trusted to lead an American military base, securing the “Freedom to Serve” for more than 42,000 active duty, guard, reserve, civilian, and military families at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, while leading a three-county, 12-city region with more than $2.1 billion in economic impact.
Her passion for securing more “Freedom to Serve” (a reference to President Truman’s landmark report on integrating the U.S. Armed Forces) led her to find and implement more inclusive policies and practices to excite today’s generations to join or stay in the military.
An executive leader and strategic advisor, Eries works to identify barriers to service and ensure pride for the past doesn’t impact preparedness for the future. Her recent appearance on the Ted X stage earned Eries a standing ovation and has been hailed as an unqualified triumph.
“Extraordinary…inspired!” – Ted X, Jacksonville, Florida
Women Rising
Women Rising is generously sponsored by the Martha Jane Phillips Starr Field of Interest Fund to profile the women who found their place on the world stage during the Truman administration; to reflect on the contributions of women; and to serve as a catalyst for promoting women as activists and leaders. Additional support provided by the Gattermeir Family Foundation.
WATCH PAST “WOMEN RISING” EVENTS
2024 The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win World War II and Shape Modern America, featuring Christopher Gorham
2023 Code Girls: The Riveting, Untold Story of the Brave Young American Women who Cracked German and Japanese Code to Help Win World War II, featuring Liza Mundy
2022 The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, featuring Katherine Sharp Landdeck
Join our email list to receive stories, digital history, news and Women Rising program updates:
