In 2024, the Dayton VA Medical Center renamed its women’s clinic the “Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley Women’s Clinic” after her.
The year before, the Biden administration renamed the Army’s Fort Lee as “Fort Gregg-Adams” in part to honor the Daytonian.
But last year, President Trump restored the name of Fort Lee.
The new resolution encourages the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp in honor of Adams Earley, who led the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion — the only all-Black WAC battalion deployed overseas during the Second World War.
“It is a privilege to present this resolution honoring my lifelong friend and mentor, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley, a trailblazer who became the first Black woman officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, later known as the Women’s Army Corps,” Beatty said in a statement.
“Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley broke barriers with quiet strength and unmistakable excellence, becoming the first Black officer in the Women’s Army Corps and leading the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion overseas to deliver results under extraordinary pressure,” Turner said in the same release.
After her service, Adams Earley studied at Ohio State University and completed a master’s degree in vocational psychology. She graduated from Wilberforce University in Greene County and was a member of the Sinclair Community College board of trustees from 1977-92 and vice chairwoman of the board from 1985 to ‘92.
She married Stanley Earley, Jr. in 1949 and they raised two children in Dayton.
She also served as dean at the Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College (which became Tennessee State University), Georgia State University, and on many community business and organization boards.
Adams Earley died in 2002 in Dayton at the age of 83.
Her story was portrayed by actress Kerry Washington in the 2024 film “The Six Triple Eight.”
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