Real-Life Lena In Netflix's 'The Six Triple Eight': Is She Dead Or Alive?

I remember reading somewhere that words are the most magical thing created by human beings. Some men with weapons in their hands and prejudice in their minds may not understand it, but words have the power to move mountains and comfort a grieving heart and that too, with the same intensity and passion. In Netflix’s The Six Triple Eight, Lena Derriecott, lost a part of herself when she got the news of her beloved Abram “Hyman” David, a Jewish pilot who lost his life in the battlefield. In December 1943, the real-life Abram had his first combat mission in San Pietro, Italy, where his plane was shot down by the enemy. The blood-stained letter that we saw at the beginning of the film could be fictional, but it is true that Abram’s death inspired his heart-broken lover to join the army. In real-life, Lena was working in a local hospital in Germantown when she found out about Abram’s death.

I guess, it is quite obvious that director Tyler Perry has taken a few creative liberties in his portrayal of Lena and Abram’s love story in the film for dramatic purposes, but except for that, most of the things that we saw in the film, did happen in real-life. As per the historical records, a seventeen-year-old Lena was a student in Germantown High School, Pennsylvania, when America entered the second world war. In the film, however, we saw Lena studying in Harristown High School, which seems like another deviation from the true story. It is true that she lived with her divorced mother and her aunt who used to run a catering business together in the neighborhood. From a very young age, Lena had taken a keen interest in the socio and political issues of the county and even participated in the Youth Administration campaign to put her voice against segregation of her community.

Unlike what we saw in Tyler Perry’s film, Lena didn’t finish her graduation in Germantown. Instead, after Abram’s death, she volunteered for the summer nursing program in 1943 for which she was sent to Fort Des Moines, Iowa. It is true that Lena wanted to join the Airforce and fight Hitler’s army but during that time, women weren’t drafted outside the county. Lena had most of her military training in this nursing program, in Iowa. Tyler Perry’s film showed that Lena, along with other privates were moved to Fort Oglethorpe in 1944, though as per the historical records, in January 1944, Lean was sent to Douglas Army Airfield, a pilot and crew training base near Bisbee, Arizona where served as the nurse, eagerly waiting for her chance to step into the battlefield. Even the movie theater incident that we witness in the film happened with real-life Lena in Douglas Airfield base where a certain Military policeman asked the chief WAC, Lieutenant Clark, to leave her seat.  The thing is, The Six Triple Eight film didn’t really resolve this scene. When Charity Adams complained to her superior about the white soldier’s behavior, he handed over their draft orders. In real life, Clark, whose role has been switched with Adams, only heard radio silence from the other end, when she raised the concern, soon after which all the colored women marched out of the theater. Clark had given an ultimatum that she would pull her unit of the battalion if they were gonna treat them like second-hand citizens. And the very next Colonel Brandel removed the segregation of the soldiers.

In 1945, Hugh Thadius Bell, an African American drill sergeant, was drafted from Fort Huachuca to Douglas Airfield, where he finally came across his future wife and the love of his life, Lena, while she was working for the post exchange. The two were quite attracted to each other and started dating. 6 months later, Lena and Hugh got married on the base. It was during this time when Lena was finally drafted overseas and was made a part of the most famous and celebrated Postal Battalion of the United States of America during World War II. In short, Lena was already married to Hugh before she left for Europe, which means she couldn’t be grieving for Abram David and looking for his last letter. Additionally, in real-life, Lena didn’t meet Charity Adams until she arrived in Europe and took shelter in King Edwards Boys School where, under her command, these black women stunned the entire US Army with their dedication and hard work. In just 90 days, they pulled off the impossible task of delivering 17 million mail letters.

After Birmingham, Lena and a part of her battalion were drafted to Rouen, France, where they continued their work of delivering mail. After the war ended, Lena enrolled into a design school in Leicester, England for a short period of time. In 1948, Lena returned to her country where her mother and her aunt had been eagerly waiting for her arrival. And as soon as Hugh came to the country, Lena started a family with him and the couple finally got settled in Los Angeles, where she worked as a nurse until retirement. The couple spent most of their retired life in Las Vegas, Nevada and on January 18, 2024, Lena took her last breath. She was 100 years old and passed away peacefully.