40 & 8 NATIONAL
La Societe des Quarante Hommes at Huit Chevaux is an independent fraternal organization of U. S. veterans, more commonly known as the Forty & Eight.
The Forty & Eight was formed in 1920 by American Legionnaires as an honor society and from its earliest days it has been committed to charitable aims. Membership is by invitation for members of the American Legion who have shown exemplary service. All Forty & Eight members are thus veterans of congressionally recognized wartime periods via their Legion membership.
The Forty & Eight’s titles and symbols reflect its First World War origins. American servicemen in France were transported to the battle front on narrow gauge French railroads (Chemin de Fer) inside boxcars (Voitures) that were half the size of American boxcars. Each French boxcar was stenciled with a “40/8”, denoting its capacity to hold either forty men or eight horses. This ignominious and uncomfortable mode of transportation was familiar to all who traveled from the coast to the trenches; a common small misery among American soldiers who thereafter found “40/8” a lighthearted symbol of the deeper service, sacrifice and unspoken horrors of war that truly bind those who have borne the battle.
Child Welfare
The Voyageurs Militaire (Military Travelers) founded a Child Welfare Program in 1923 to ease the pain and suffering of those children whose fathers never returned or who were unable to care for their needs after the "Big War". Today, our efforts touch over 1,300,000 children annually with an investment of eight millions of dollars.
Youth Sports
During the 75th Promenade Nationale in Orlando, Florida, the Youth Sports Program was established. Through this program, the 40/8 will provide financial assistance, in the form of grants, to individuals or teams who lack the funds required to participate in amateur sports programs. The program encompasses all amature sports programs for youths from 7 to 20 years of age.
Nurses Training
In 1955, the Voyageurs Militaire recognized the shortage of Registered Nurses and began to provide the financial assistance in scholarships to those who enrolled for this training. With 2088 students receiving over $708,712 in scholarships this past year the FORTY ET EIGHT has granted in excess of $9,000,000 dollars since the inception of this program.
For further information please contact:
JAMES B. TAYLOR
109 CYNTHIA LANE
GRANITE CITY, IL. 62040
Ph. 618-931-4504
