North 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.

McCarthy said he got called for a well-being check, and upon visiting Guy's trailer, he saw the living conditions were not good. He took photos and sent them to the attorney general's office.

Haase and Carlson noted that a tree branch had fallen on the mobile home, causing damage that opened the home to weather, causing the mold and mildew.

Peter Brown, deputy director of constituent services in the Office of the Attorney General, also noted that a call about Guy's situation came in to the Elder Justice Hotline. It was sent to Associate Attorney General Sandy Arenas, who coordinated with other state agencies to work on housing.

Guy has been in a motel since December. Haase said her church — Babcock Presbyterian Church in Ashaway, R.I. — helped, and then Dunns Corner Community Church Presbyterian in Westerly and Grace Fellowship Evangelical Free Church in North Stonington donated. Community members were coming to the window at Red Onion to give money.

"Everybody could use a hand once in a while," Tong said, "and this is what happens when people come together."

"We didn't just want him to be just another forgotten veteran," Haase said. The issue is near and dear to her: Haase said her father served in Vietnam, was rained on with Agent Orange and got his disability benefits on his deathbed.

Guy sat quietly at a table in the small eatery Tuesday as officials and reporters crowded around. He had the cane that was once lost: Since it had his name and address on it, Haase said Guy came back to his trailer one day to find it propped against the trailer door.

e.moser@theday.com