40/8 médal.

The organization (also known as "La Société") can trace its roots back to 1920, when Joseph W. Breen and 15 other members of the American Legion, who were veterans of World War I, came together and founded it as an honor society for certain Legion members. They envisioned a new and different level of elite membership and camaraderie for leaders of the American Legion.

The title "40 & 8" comes from the box cars that were used to transport troops to the front in France. Each car had the emblem 40/8 stenciled on the sides, which meant that it could carry 40 men or 8 horses. These cars were known as forty-and-eights. They were seen by the troops as a miserable way to travel, and the new organization was thus called the 40 & 8 in an attempt to make some light of the common misery they had all shared.