Singer Maria Augusta Trapp

(Original Caption) Mrs. Maria Augusta Trapp of Stowe, Vermont, widow of the late Austrian naval hero, Baron Georg von Trapp, and the mother and principal contralto of then world-famed Trapp family singers, has been honored by his Holiness Pope Pius XII, with the "Benemerenti Medal," Pontifical decoration "for Distinguished Service," one of two awards to honor "civil and military daring and courage," instituted by Pope Gregory XVI in 1832. Although no explanation has come through from the Vatican, it is thought that the award of the "Benemerenti medal" to Mrs. Trapp is in recognition of the accomplisments of the Trapp Family Austrian Relief Incorporated, which she and the late Baron founded in 1947 and which operated entirely by members of the Trapp family, themselves, has since then been responsible for the shipment of more than 300,000 pounds of food, clothing and medicines to t