Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson (2021)

 

I LOVE reading historical fiction. More times than not I learn new things, in addition to enjoying a good story. Sisters in Arms has both covered. It is the story of the 6888^th Central Postal Directory Battalion (known as the Six Triple Eight), the only all-Black female battalion deployed overseas during World War II.

The story beings in 1942 with the formation of the U.S. Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (soon to become the Women's Army Corps or WAC). Forty black women were allowed to enter the first WAAC officer candidate class. This is when we meet our heroines Grace Steele and Eliza Jones, two women who could not be more different but grew to respect one another.

This well-written, engaging novel follows Grace and Eliza from the WAAC application process, through basic training until their discharge at the end of the war. It is a story about dreams, friendship, courage against all odds, and the prejudices the women faced from white officers, enlisted men, and the general population. Unfortunately, some things have not changed. Some of the supporting characters actually existed and others are fictionalized but based on actual people.

I would recommend this to any history buff.

3.7 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

For more info on the WAC and the Six Triple Eight Battalion, check out https://history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm and https://history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/6888thPBn/index.html