Howard J Schroeder Post 457

      40 & 8 National

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For complete information click on above logo 

La Societe des Quarante Hommes at Huit Chevaux is an independent organization of US Veterans, more commonly known as the Forty & Eight.

The Forty & Eight was formed in 1920 by American Legionnaires as an honor society and from it's earliest days it has been committed to charitable aims. Membership is by invitation for male and female veterans who have shown exemplary service.

The Forty & Eight’s titles and symbols reflect it's 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.

 For more online details visit http://www.fortyandeight.org/ 

In Ozaukee County, membership in the Forty & Eight is through Voiture 1330, which is the organization responsible for activities in our area. Voiture 1330's main charitable activity is sponsoring several Ozaukee County nursing candidates with scholarships to obtain either two or four-year degrees in nursing.

For more information about the 40&8, membership, or regarding our nurses scholarship program, contact: tingram5@wi.rr.com