Forty and Eight veterans organization The Forty and Eight is an organization of veterans of the United States armed forces . Its official name is " La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux , " which is French , and translates as " The Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses . " History . The organization ( also known as " La Société " ) can trace its roots back to 1920 , when Joseph W . Breen and 15 other members of the American Legion , who were veterans of World War I , came together and founded it as an honor society for certain Legion members . The title " 40 & 8 " comes from the box cars that were used to transport troops to the front in France . Each car had the emblem 40 / 8 stenciled on the sides , which meant that it could carry 40 men or 8 horses . These cars were known as forty - and - eights . They were seen by the troops as a miserable way to travel , and the new organization was thus called the 40 & 8 in an attempt to make some light of the common misery they had all shared . In 1929 it was described as " the fun - making organization of the American Legion . " In 1959 the 40 & 8 became independent of the American Legion , although still required membership in the American Legion . In 2008 the 40 & 8 dropped the membership requirement in the American Legion . Eligibility . Membership is by invitation and open to all Honorably Discharged Veterans and all Military Personnel currently serving our country , per a recent change to Article IV of la Societe ' s constitution . Combat service is not required for membership . From the beginning , La Société only allowed men into its ranks , even though many women were veterans in their own right and thus , could have been eligible . But that changed at the 2006 National Convention , when the majority of delegates present voted to allow women into the ranks for the first time . Activities . The Forty and Eight is involved in several charitable aims . Child Welfare . La Societe ' s first program was designed to provide care and scholarships for the children of servicemen not returning home after WWI . Today ; the Child Welfare program is mostly involved with providing help for any family with children under 18 that have been devastated by some disaster . Nurses ' Training . La Société provides scholarships to people desiring to become nurses under the Nurses ' Training program . A prospective nurse need not be a military veteran to receive aid under this program . Youth Sports . La Société also helps to finance sports programs for children who are disadvantaged in some way , such as through mental or physical challenges or lack of money . People who receive this aid need not be military veterans . Carville Star . As one of their ongoing programs , the Voyageurs Militaire offer continuing support of the publication , " The Carville Star , " which disseminates the information regarding the research into Hansen ' s Disease ( Leprosy ) taking place in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . There they have been successful in isolating , controlling and soon , through their research , the development of a vaccine to prevent Hansen ' s Disease . " The Star " is published at the former United States Public Health Service Hospital located in Carville , Louisiana . This patient - published publication carries the research works of not only this center , but those of the rest of the world , and is translated into and forwarded to 128 countries in addition to a circulation of more than 60 , 000 in the United States . Organization . The local unit of the 40 & 8 is the Voiture ( boxcar ) . It often covers a specific city , county , or American Legion post . Above that is the Grande ( state ) level . Each state has its own Grande , as well as the District of Columbia , and there are grandes for Mexico , France , Latin America and several other locations where US military veterans make their homes abroad . 40 & 8 National Headquarters is located in Indianapolis , Indiana . 40 & 8 members refer to each other as " Voyageurs " ( voyagers ) , in that all members have shared the demands and hardship of military service and have taken the same journey . The 40 & 8 is down significantly from its membership numbers of years back . But it is still very much in existence . Although the 40 & 8 is not a classical secret society , much of the ritual is a secret to non - members . Some veterans ' organizations are like this . A member can disclose that he or she belongs to said organization , but not all of what goes on at its meetings . An official meeting of the 40 & 8 is known as a Promenade . It has its own set ritual . The ceremony to initiate a new member , known as a Voyageur , into the 40 & 8 is known as a wreck . Anyone wishing to enter the 40 & 8 must be wrecked . The 40 & 8 as a whole is divided into regions . These regions follow geographical lines and each region encompasses multiple states . For example , the Central States includes Colorado , Iowa , Kansas , Nebraska , Missouri , New Mexico , Oklahoma , Texas and Wyoming . The MinnDakota region includes Minnesota , North Dakota and South Dakota . Other regions include Heart of Dixie and Northwest .