Veronica Kieffer Brooklyn Navy Yard photograph and badge

The origins of the Brooklyn Navy Yard (officially known as the New York Naval Shipyard) date back to 1801, when the United States Navy acquired what had previously been a small, privately owned shipyard in order to construct naval vessels. By the time the Department of Defense ceased shipbuilding activities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1966, 88 vessels had been manufactured at the facility. In 1967, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was acquired by the City of New York and was converted for private commercial use.

Veronica Kieffer (nee Marino) worked as a civilian employee at the New York Naval Shipyard (commonly referred to then as the Brooklyn Navy Yard) from 1944 to 1945. She worked at a Navy Yard building located at Cumberland Street, where she overhauled binoculars that came off ships upon their return from military engagements. Kieffer was also an usherette for the launching of the aircraft carrier, USS Kearsarge, on May 5, 1945. Her husband, Clayton Kieffer, was stationed at the Navy Yard while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Kieffer later lived in West Babylon, N.Y.