Local Forty & Eight marks national group's 95th year

WARREN

Trumbull County Voiture (chapter) 1182 of The Forty & Eight, a veterans group with its roots in World War I France, is celebrating the national organization’s 95th anniversary this week.

Sunday was Forty & Eight’s official birthday, but the Trumbull County chapter, which has about 41 members, moved the local celebration to Wednesday to coincide with its regular meeting, said William Conrad of Howland, the unit’s Chef de Gare (commander).

Conrad said the group will have its regular meeting, which is open to members only, at 7 p.m., and family and friends and the public will be invited to the birthday celebration beginning at 8 p.m., which will include a ceremony and a cake.

The Forty & Eight group meets at the Ali Baba Grotto at 760 Perkins-Jones Road NE in Warren.

Conrad said The Forty & Eight is the most fun of any veterans organization of which he is a member, and it supports several worthy causes.

The Forty & Eight was formed in March 1920 by members of the newly formed American Legion. The Forty & Eight name refers to how many men, 40, or how many horses, 8, that could fit into a boxcar of the French railways of that time.

Read more about the group and its celebration in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.