The Six Triple Eight may be inspired by Lena Derriecott King's true-life wartime experience, but the Netflix drama took certain liberties to tell it.
Released on December 20 and directed by Tyler Perry, The Six Triple Eight follows young Lena Derriecott King (Ebony Obsidian), a member of the only all-Black all-female battalion who were sent overseas to tackle a major World War II problem, an impossible backlog of undelivered letters.
What The Six Triple Eight Gets Right & What Netflix Gets Wrong
While The Six Triple Eight spotlights the unsung story of Corporal Lena Derriecott King, and her fellow soldiers of the 6888th Battalion of the Women's Army Corps (WAC), Tyler Perry made a few changes to her personal and military story.
The film begins with Lena in high school during World War II and romantically involved with Abram David, a Jewish boy who was shipping out but promised to write.
However, Abram's letters never reached her, and he was killed in his first mission, leaving Lena devastated but now on the path to join the fight herself.
According to Kevin M. Hymel (via Warfare History Network), and whose writings inspired the Netflix film, the real-life Lena Derriecott was, in fact, friends with a Jewish boy named Abram who died in his first mission. While his death did inspire her to join, she was already working in a local hospital and was politically active.
To condense her story into a 129-minute film, and to spotlight the experience and struggles of the history-making battalion, Tyler Perry makes quite a few changes moving forward (check out which Tyler Perry Netflix drama is coming back here)
For instance, for The Six Triple Eight, Lena's basic training is set in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia instead of Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and it's there she trains under the command of Major Charity Adams, played by Kerry Washington.
Adams was the first African American to earn officer's rank, and whose character gets almost as much focus in the film as Lena.
In reality, Lena did not meet Major Adams until after she was deployed to Europe which followed her tenure as a nurse in Arizona. Also, the 6888th's work in the dark, rat-infested warehouses wasn't limited to England alone. They were later sent to post-Nazi-occupied France to do the same job amidst the rubble and devastation.
Tyler Perry also makes a significant change to Lena Derriecott's personal life, particularly in terms of her husband.
While the Netflix film shows her meeting Private Hugh Bell, her future husband, who immediately takes an interest in her. In real life, Hugh was actually a drill sergeant, and the two married before Lena was deployed overseas. However, in The Six Triple Eight, she's still broken-hearted over the death of Abram and barely knows Hugh when she's first sent to Scotland.
Lena is also portrayed as quiet, withdrawn, and a bit of a wallflower who struggles with her training early on. It's only after she breaks down over the loss of Abram that the unit, and Major Adams, fully take notice of her and the value of their mission.
While some of these details could have their roots in certain truths and aspects, Lena and her husband were well-known on base prior to her deployment, and she was only selected to go overseas after a rigorous and highly competitive selection process, followed by intense training.
How Lena Derriecott Bell's True Story Ended
After Lena finally gets her lost letter from Abram and mourns at his grave, The Six Triple Eight ends when the backlogged mail is finally delivered to U.S. soldiers and their loved ones back at home.
As the value of their work is realized and troop morale improves, Lena, Major Adams, and the rest of the unit finally begin to receive the recognition they deserve.
The real Lena Derriecott King also makes an appearance before the credits roll, which was filmed prior to her passing in January 2024, and where reads a letter reflecting on her experience.
Here she notes that she and her fellow soldiers were treated better in Europe than they were in the States and that their World War II service was overlooked. However, she goes on to share how that has begun to change.
In addition to The Six Triple Eight, the 6888th have received awards in recent years, including the Meritorious Unit Commendation in February 2019, which is the Army's only award for exemplary performance. Also, in 2022 President Joe Biden signed The Six Triple Eight U.S. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 into law.
Since mail was the only means of personal communication during World War II, the story of the 6888th, and Lena Derriecott King, is a compelling one that deserves to be told, and one made all the more powerful by them being the only all-Black, all-female soldiers sent overseas.
But while tweaks and changes are expected with any adaptation, it's important to note that Lena Derriecott King's on-screen story is different than how it played out in real life.
Adjustments were made to her tale, and that of the 6888th, to convey the value of their mission and to make certain points. But hopefully, Tyler Perry's historical drama will inspire audiences to learn more about this real story and the lives of the real women involved.
The Six Triple Eight is streaming now on Netflix.
