N. Stonington community comes together to help Marine Corps vet
March 9, 2022North Stonington — What started as an effort to replace the lost cane of an 82-year-old Marine Corps veteran grew into one to get him out of poor living conditions, and the state attorney general has recognized those involved for helping out a member of the community.
David Guy is a regular customer at Red Onion Pizza Restaurant on Route 2, where Cheryl Haase has been working since the restaurant opened. Guy gets a grinder every week; his favorite is sausage.
Haase said Guy came in one day last year and said he lost his cane, so she posted in a Facebook group for help and had four canes within 48 hours. She and her family then had Guy over for Thanksgiving dinner, and when she drove him home with leftovers, she was “blown away by how he was living. I couldn’t even sleep that night.”
“The mold and mildew was just beyond,” Haase said. But the community rallied together to put Guy up in motels, and on Monday, he is headed to Veterans Base Camp in Chaplin.
Located on 45 acres, Veterans Base Camp is a faith-based nonprofit that provides housing, food and support to veterans.
The property is being put up for sale, and Veterans Base Camp is trying to raise money to buy it; people can donate at veteransbasecampinc.org.
On Tuesday, Attorney General William Tong visited Red Onion to present Haase, Connecticut State Police Trooper Jason McCarthy, and First Selectman Bob Carlson with the first-ever Attorney General Citizen Hero Award.
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, and Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, also presented a citation from the Connecticut General Assembly.
