War Heroes Honor Their 'Stepmother,' Freedoms Foundation Archivist Sister Veronica

"She was a legend in her own time," said Col. Walter Marm, standing next to the grave of Sister Maria Veronica Keane.

In 1966, Marm was awarded the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty" in the Vietnam War. On Saturday, he and five other Medal of Honor recipients came to Camilla Cemetery at to lay a wreath at the nun's grave and recall her work on their behalf.

Sister Veronica, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary order, spent the last 17 years of her life documenting the stories of Medal of Honor recipients as an archivist at Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation. She received numerous awards from the military and was even offered a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, but instead chose to be buried with her sisters at the Immaculata cemetery when she died, at age 93, in 2002.

Marm said he and his fellow honorees—Francis Currey (WWII), Hector Cafferata (Korea), General James Livingston (Vietnam), Harold A. Fritz (Vietnam), and Brian M. Thacker (Vietnam)—called Sister Veronica their "stepmother."

"Any time we had a concern or a problem, we could call on her for advice and assistance, and many of us did," Marm said. "... She was vivacious. When you talked to her, if you were sad, she'd make you happy. She was just a joy to be around."

The six decorated veterans had flown in from up and down the East Coast to attend Saturday evening's inaugural fundraiser for the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove, a nonprofit group whose mission is to preserve the 52-acre woodland area in Valley Forge that serves as a "living memorial" for Medal of Honor recipients. The grove is owned by the Freedoms Foundation, where Sister Veronica worked as archivist.

The ceremony on Saturday afternoon, attended by more than 15 nuns who knew Sister Veronica personally, along with others who had known her through the Freedoms Foundation, began with a prayer from a nun who had served for four years in the women's division of the Army during World War II.

State Sen. Andy Dinniman and Sister Patricia McGuigan both shared words honoring Sister Veronica and the Medal of Honor recipients, followed by the presentation of the wreath. Afterwards, Marm spoke to those gathered, and Mark Ryan of the Irish Thunder Pipes Band played "Amazing Grace."

Sister Veronica compiled more than 95 books containing photos and stories of the Medal of Honor recipients in her lifetime.

"We're awed by all she did in her 17 years of work for the Medal of Honor recipients," Marm said.

According to the Medal of Honor Grove, Sister Veronica once summed up her motivation as such: “I have always been a woman with deep religious convictions. I hate the idea of war, as everybody does, but I love the men who have given me the privilege of worshipping my God as I please.”