The 40 and 8 is a service group of Legionnaires; it is a separate organization, but it's members are drawn from the ranks of The American Legion.  More formally called "La Societe des Quarante Hommes at Huit", the organization is commonly known as the 40 and 8 (or 40 et 8, or 40/8) a name taken from the group's origins after the first World War when US servicemen in France were transported to the front lines in French railroad cars labeled with the insignia 40/8 to mark their capacity as forty men or eight horses.

Membership covers a wider geographic area for each Voiture of the 40 and 8 then it does the individual posts of The American Legion, and Voiture 146 (the group in the Aberdeen area) covers much of northeastern South Dakota; from Sisseton to Mobridge, and from Warner to the North Dakota border.  Meetings can rotate between the Legion post homes, but are most often held in Aberdeen.

Meetings are on the second Monday of each month, and begin at 8:00 pm.

The 40 and 8 support many of the same areas as The American Legion does, including Veteran's support, Americanism, and Child Welfare, and some of the individual programs include:

Nurses Training
Youth Sports
Child Welfare
Americanism
POW/MIA
Disaster Relief
and the Carville Star
(publication an research for Hansen's Disease)


For more information on the 40 et 8, please contact
Voiture146
PO Box 641
Aberdeen, SD 57402