Vintage WWI Veteran Forty and Eight Wool Hat Cap & medal New York 17 chapter

Description

Vintage 40 & 8 Standard Issue Chapeau (hat) with Chapeau medal (to be worn on the hat). The medal was taken off the hat for these photos. On the 40 & 8 side of the hat you can see the two holes where the medal was.
From the age of the wool and the font style on the hat size on the inside of the hat, this is an early piece.
La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux
(The Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses), is an independent, invitation only, honor society of American veterans and service members; more commonly known as
The Forty and Eight
.
The titles and symbols of The Forty and Eight are derived from the experiences of U.S. troops during World War I.  Americans soldiers were transported to the front on the French rail system. Cramped into narrow gauge boxcars, each stenciled with “40 Hommes/8 Chevaux”, denoting its capacity to hold either 40 men or 8 horses.  This uncomfortable mode of transportation was familiar common experience for every Doughboy that fought in the trenches; a mutual small misery among American soldiers. Thereafter, they found “40/8” a lighthearted symbol of the deeper service, unspoken horrors and shared sacrifice that bind all who have endured combat.
The Forty & Eight was founded in 1920 by American veterans returning from France.  Originally an arm of The American Legion, the Forty & Eight became an independent and separately incorporated veteran's organization in 1960.  Membership is by invitation of honorably discharged veterans and honorably serving members of the United States Armed Forces.