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40 Et 8 | |
WHAT IS THE FORTY ET EIGHT?
La Societe des Quarants Hommes of Huit Chevaux, an independent fraternal organization of Veterans, popularly known as the FORTY ET EIGHT, was organized in 1920 as the fun and honor society of American Legionnaires. Now composed of the Veterans of both World Wars, the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts, it draws its origin from World War I when young Americans were sent to France to fight a war to end all wars. The narrow gauge railroads of France had boxcars (Voilures) that carried little more than half the capacity of American boxcars and these voitures were used to transport the men and horses to and from the fighting fronts. On the side of these little boxcars was stenciled the capacity of each. Holding either forty men or eight horses these voitures became the trade mark of our organization. If you could laugh at the train ride from the coast of France to the trenches crowded in these little boxcars only recently vacated by eight horses, one could surely adapt to the changes in his life when he returned home. Membership in the Forty et Eight is by invitation only for recognition of service to the American Legion and/or its programs.
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.
Ever looking to new ways to serve America and it's communities led the Forty Et Eight to encompass the AAU Junior Olympics projects into our existing Child Welfare Program during 1982. AAUJO became a separate major project of La Societe in 1984. We provide funds and volunteer manpower to help the AAU conduct its youth sports program.
In 1955, the Voyagours 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.
As one of their on going prograrns, the Voyageurs Militaire offers continuing support of the patient publication "The Carville Star" of the National Hanson's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana. Formerly a United States Public Health Service Hospital, the Center has been successful in isolating, controlling and soon the developrnent of the vaccine to prevent Hanson's Disease (leprosy). The FORTY ET EIGHT was instrumental in maintaining this facility as the only sum of the Public Health Service Hospital System. The patient published magazine carries the research works of not only this center but those of the rest of the world and is translated and forwarded to 128 countries along with a circulation of more than 70,000 in the United States. The FORTY ET EIGHT is proud to have provided all of the equipment necessary for the publication and distribution of this magazine. From the modern four color offset presses to the latest computer typesetting and addressing systems, we are just proud of our ability to provide over ninety percent of the funding for this project.
By virtue of being Veterans who have served their country in it's time of greatest need, the fun loving, hard working Voyageurs Militaire maintain a strong commitment to the American way of life. Americanism projects, respect for the Flag, Constitution, Law and Order and the proven willingness to defend these principles is evident in the day to day activities of the members of our
society.
The Voyageurs Militaire of the FORTY ET EIGHT ask for nothing except to serve their fellow human beings and by that service to provide our children with a safe, free land of opportunity and to further provide for the adequate defense of the greatest system of government devised by the mind of man.