There are 42 plaques on the Texas Merci Boxcar. When it first arrived from France it was placed at Camp Mabry. Later Camp Mabry needed more room due to the Korean War and the boxcar was moved to American Legion Travis Post 76. A number of the plaques on the sides had disappeared by then. Adolph Hohertz, an officer in the American Legion and the Forty and Eight decided to replace them with reproductions. After a lot of research he got an art student at the University to make new plaques. These are only placed on the boxcar during the annual Forty and Eight Spring Cheminot and Pilgrimage in February. A ceremony is held at Travis Post 76 and the Voyageurs Militaire gather for a group photo in front of the boxcar. There always seems to be a lot of discussion about the appearance of the boxcar. What color was it originally? What order should the plaques actually be on the side? It is always a lively and interesting time.
There are also two other plaques in the corners on each side.
