What is the 40 & 8
La Societe des Quarante Hommes at Huit Chevaux is an independent, by invitation, honor organization of male and female U. S. veterans, more commonly known as the Forty & Eight.
The Forty & Eight is committed to charitable and patriotic aims. Our purpose is to uphold and defend the United States Constitution, to promote the well being of veterans and their widows and orphans, and to actively participate in selected charitable endeavors, which include programs that promote child welfare and nurse’s training.
The titles and symbols of the Forty & Eight reflect its First World War origins. Americans were transported to the battle front on French trains within boxcars stenciled with a “40/8”, denoting its capacity to hold either forty men or eight horses. This uncomfortable mode of transportation was familiar to all who fought in 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 bind all who have borne the battle.
The Forty & Eight was founded in 1920 by American veterans returning from France. Originally an arm of The American Legion, the Forty & Eight became an independent and separately incorporated veteran’s organization in 1960. Membership is by invitation of honorably discharged veterans and honorably serving members of the United States Armed Forces.
Voiture 499 Officers
Chef de Gare – Paul Williams email @ williamspaul769@gmail.com
Chef de Train – Wendell Geiger
Correspondant – Jack Wade
Commissaire-Int – Robert Boss
Conducteur – Dennis Lester
Garde de la Porte – Zesta Debro
Aumonier – George Hinkle
Avocat – Bobby Davis
Commis Voyageur – Jerry Mahaffey
Lampiste – John Ruckdeschel
Historian –
Grand Cheminot – Kenneth Lucier
Cheminot Locale – Neal Savage
Voiture 499 Directors
Americanism – Jack Wade
Flags-1st Graders – George Hinkle
Boxcar Assn. – Robert Boss
Carville Star – Wayne Harrington
Child Welfare – Dennis Lester
Nurses Training – Roger Decker
POW/MIA – Kenneth Lucier
VAVS – Roger Decker
Youth Sports –
Ritual – Jack Wade
Public Relations –
Voiture Activities – Ben Cash