HERNDON - An ex-Marine whose heroism in Iraq earned him the Navy Cross was the special guest Saturday when the St. Louis de Montfort Academy treated veterans, firefighters and emergency personnel to a meal and an open house.
The boys' school a few miles east of here in Jackson Township welcomed Sgt. Jeremiah Workman and a few local veterans, as well as members of Herndon Fire Company and Dalmatia Area Ambulance, for a barbecue lunch and a tour.
The school, which is operated by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), has a current enrollment of about 20 students. The students travel each morning to the monastery in Elysburg for Mass.
Norman Fulkerson, public relations director for TFP, said he met Workman at a veterans' conference and thought he would be a good person to invite to the school, which operates with a military-style regiment amid much patriotism.
Workman, who now lives in Fredericksburg, Md., presented an autographed copy of his book, "Shadow of the Sword, A Marine's Journey of War, Heroism, and Redemption," to the school. He earned the Navy Cross, the nation's second highest honor for valor, for his repeated efforts to help fellow Marines during a battle in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004.
After almost nine years of service, Workman was discharged from the Marines in January 2010 and now serves as a military services coordinator for the U.S. Department of Affairs, where he said he tries to help other Marines returning from war.
About 50 people enjoyed lunch in a large tent on the academy grounds, then toured the three-story school, which years ago operated as a nursing home. The event included an outdoor concert of patriotic music by the academy band.