Grand Chef de Gare du California
								William J. Reed, V-104, Grand Chef de Gare
			To all the Grand du California Voyagers I extend a profound thank-you for your support and electing me to the Office of “Grand Chef de Gare”, Grande du California last July in Sacramento . Our 40/8 or “La Societe Des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux” was founded by Joseph Breen along with a contingent of Legionnaires in 1920.  Meeting in Philadelphia , they organized Voiture # 1 of La Societe Des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux; or as we like to say, Box Car # 1 of the Society of 40 Men and 8 Horses.  At the National Convention of The American that same year in Cleveland , Ohio , our fledgling organization took on a new dimension becoming a nationally recognized veterans' organization.  This was where Legionnaires, from all over the United States , were “Wrecked” into the “Box Car Brotherhood”.  After the convention, each returned home to organize Voitures in their hometown. Membership in the Forty and Eight is by invitation only.  Although there were changes made, in a very big way, at our 2008 Promenade Nationale in Orlando , Florida , these changes along with our existing guideline are the rules that govern us today. La Societe is alive and well due to the dedication and intestinal fortitude shown by our Voyagers Militaire.  Membership is on going and our # 1 priority.  Our Programs are in the capable hands of our dedicated members, who believe, as I do, that the mission can and will be carried out. I often wonder how my Father, a 30 year Army Infantryman who fought in both WWI and WWII, felt as he boarded one of those 40/8 Boxcars and traveled to the front lines, an experience that must have been unbelievable. John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States , in the final pages of his book, Profiles in Courage, writes, “To be courageous... requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstances.  It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all." As your Chef, I ask each member of our Organization to recognize that the courage JFK writes about is here and now.  We succeed only by our commitment to keep the 40 & 8 relevant.  We succeed only by our courage to carry our banner.  We succeed when we, you and me, ask those that we believe to be the stuff 40 & 8ers are made of, to carry the banner with us. Sincerely, William J. Reed Grand Chef de Gare
				Updated February 15th, 2010 © 2008 2009 2010 Grande Du California All Rights Reserved