Colonel Edna Cummings: A Soldier's Life
About this Event
Retired Army Colonel Edna W. Cummings presents her book, A Soldier's Life: A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion.
This inspiring memoir chronicles her rise to leadership and her relentless advocacy for the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Known as the "Six Triple Eight," this trailblazing African American WWII Women’s Army Corps unit is now the subject of a Netflix film and a Broadway-bound musical. In 2022, largely thanks to Cummings’s grassroots efforts, the Six Triple Eight received the Congressional Gold Medal—the only women’s unit ever awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor. In A Soldier’s Life, Colonel Cummings shares her journey from Army brat to advocate, overcoming incredible odds for herself and the women who paved the way. Joining her in conversation is retired Major Fannie Griffin McClendon—a Congressional Gold Medal recipient and inductee into the Library of Congress, who has two college scholarships named in her honor. Following their conversation, join us for a celebration honoring Major McClendon on the occasion of her 106th birthday!
Co-presented by Archer-Ragsdale Arizona Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Soldier’s Life is a profound and inspiring memoir chronicling Col. Cummings’s groundbreaking military service and her journey toward honor, leadership, and legacy. Cummings faced an unlikely path to a stellar military career and successful businesswoman after retirement. She used her life experiences to champion recognition for the trailblazing 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (Six Triple Eight). Cummings championed the Six Triple Eight’s highest civilian honor—the Congressional Gold Medal. Among the fewer than two hundred recipients, including the crew of Apollo 11 and the Navajo Code Talkers, the Six Triple Eight is the only women’s unit to receive this prestigious decoration, and honors Arizona’s own, Major Fannie McClendon, U.S. Air Force (Retired).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An award-winning author, sought-after speaker, and distinguished alumnus from Appalachian State University, Boone NC and their Army ROTC program, Edna had a trailblazing 25-year military career. Afterwards, she supported federal contractors and is now Vice President of Windsor Group, LLC. She also works to honor the all-Black WWII Women’s Army Corps unit, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (Six Triple Eight). Edna championed the Congressional effort for the Six Triple Eight Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 and co-produced two documentaries about the historic unit. In 2020, Military Officers Association of America recognized her as a national Changemaker and she received the 2022 the NAACP’s Jesse Brown Distinguished Leadership Award. The Center for Women Veterans named her as a 2023 Trailblazer and the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., inducted her as an honorary member. In November 2023, the U.S. Army War College Foundation honored Col. Cummings as an Outstanding Alumnus and in January 2024, the Afro American Newspaper named her Person of the Year. She is also a recipient of the 2025 The Daughters of American Revolution Medal of Honor and recognized as a Mighty 25.
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