ARLINGTON , Virginia ( CNN ) -- The honors were late but still well-received Wednesday for members of the first all-African-American , all-female unit to serve overseas in World War II . Mary Crawford Ragland said when they came home from service , there were no parades for them . During the war , nearly 1,000 women from the `` Six-Triple Eight '' Central Postal Battalion moved mountains of mail for millions of American service members and civilians that clogged warehouses in England and France . Their service to their country had been overlooked for years , starting with when they returned to the United States from assignments overseas . `` There was no parade , '' said Mary Crawford Ragland . `` We just came home . '' The 82-year old was among those gathered Wednesday at the Women 's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery , where a U.S. Army support group called the Freedom Team Salute presented them with certificates of appreciation , timed with Black History Month . Watch women receive their honors » . The group also gives a letter of appreciation signed by the Army Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Army , an Army lapel pin and an Army decal . For Alyce Dixon , 101 , it was worth the wait . `` They asked me because I 'm one of the oldest survivors , and I can still talk , '' she said with a smile . Nearly 800 women that were part of the 6888th were first stationed in Birmingham , England , for three months , moved to Rouen , France , and finally settled in Paris , according to the Army 's Web site . They were responsible for redirecting mail to more than seven million people -- all U.S. armed forces in the European Theater of Operations , including Army , Navy , Marine Corps , civilians and Red Cross workers . As Army units quickly moved throughout Western Europe and into Germany , a massive mail snag occurred because of a manpower shortage . Soldiers continued to move , fighting battles across the continent , but were n't getting their mail . Morale began to drop . That 's when the Army turned to the `` Six-Triple-Eight '' When Dixon and the other women arrived at a warehouse in early 1945 , they found the building had no heat . Inside the warehouse , the windows were painted black to keep the light from coming out at night against bombing raids . Because there was no heat , the women donned long johns and anything else they could layer on . But the temperature was nothing compared with the daunting challenge of sorting the mail . When they walked inside the warehouse , it was stacked to the ceiling with undelivered packages and letters . `` They had 90 billion pieces of mail , '' Dixon told CNN , some of it from hometown friends and family addressed only to `` Junior , U.S. Army or Buster , U.S. Army , '' she said . `` We had to figure it out , '' she said . Even when there were complete names , it was n't easy . There were 7,500 soldiers named Robert Smith in the European Theater of Operations , according to the Museum of Black WWII History Web site , and the women had to keep them straight . Because all undeliverable mail passed through them , they were charged with keeping information cards on everyone in the European Theater of Operations , according to the Army site . Because frontline soldiers were often moved frequently , the women often had to update information several times a month . While it was an arduous task , the women knew the importance of their job . For soldiers in the field , letters from loved ones brought important personal connections that kept their morale going . So they kept on sorting . Eight hours at a time , three shifts per day , seven days a week , they kept on sorting . And because of them , 65,000 letters went out each shift to soldiers across Europe . On Wednesday , the favor was finally returned .
Women were enlisted to help with backlog of mail that was decreasing morale . They worked in freezing conditions but sorted 65,000 letters a shift . Comment: Women responsible for mail for more than 7 million service members and civilians .