Membership badge of the "Society of 40 people and 8 horses" No.3082

Bronze, patination, stamping. An original and quite rare sign in excellent collector's condition. The sign on the original shoe. The membership number (wagon) is 3082. Guarantee of authenticity.

La Société des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux (English: "Society of 40 People and 8 Horses"), commonly known as "Forty and Eight", is a patriotic organization of U.S. veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The organization was founded in March 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when World War I veteran Joseph Breen and 15 other members of the American Legion came together and organized it as the Legion of Honor Society. They envisioned a new, different level of elite membership and camaraderie among the Legion's leaders. The organization got its name from the freight wagons of the French army, which were used to transport American soldiers to the western front during the First World War. Each carriage had "40-8" written on it, which meant it could carry 40 people or 8 horses. The wagons were known as "forty-eights," and the men considered them a miserable means of transportation. Thus, the new organization was named "Forty and Eight" in an attempt to shed light on the shared suffering they all shared. In 1929, it was described as the "entertainment organization of the American Legion."

In 1959, the Forty and Eight became independent of the American Legion when National Commander Martin B. McNeilly terminated the organization's existence as part of the Legion due to racially discriminatory membership requirements. In 1973, Forty and Eight changed the rules of their membership, prohibiting discrimination. The organization required that its members also be members of the Legion until 2008. Membership is by invitation only and is open to honorably discharged veterans and active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces in accordance with the 2008 amendments to article IV of the National Constitution. Wartime service is not required.

From the very beginning, the "Forty and Eight" allowed only men to join their ranks, although many women themselves were veterans and, therefore, could have the right to do so, but the situation changed on the National Embankment in 2006, when the majority of the delegates present voted to admit women to the ranks for the first time.