During the course of a casual conversation, Cundy, a legally blind Army veteran who served during WWII, mentioned to Barrett that he lost his metal VFW lifetime membership card, and that it meant a great deal to him. He asked for help replacing it. Barrett promised to look into it.

“I mentioned it to my post commander, Jerry Syas, and he went out of his way to get to the bottom of the situation,” explained Barrett. “He discovered that Mr. Cundy didn’t appear on any of the Post rosters in New Hampshire.”

After a little more digging, Syas discovered that Cundy had been accidentally listed as “deceased” for nearly ten years … about the time he entered the New Hampshire Veterans Home.

“It was really no one’s fault, and Mr. Cundy has a good sense of humor,” Barrett added. “National Headquarters was never informed of Mr. Cundy’s change in residence and when they received no response over the years they must have assumed he had passed away.”

Barrett and Syas were determined to reactivate Mr. Cundy’s lifetime membership and eventually, they succeeded. Even though Cundy could barely read it, he was still able to enjoy his new membership card.

“Lifetime membership cards [ordered from the VFW Supply Department] are metal and when I sat it on the table in his room, Mr. Cundy heard it right away,” Barrett said. “He kept saying he recognized the sound and how much he liked it.”

Barrett was especially honored when it came time for Cundy to choose a Post. Cundy’s only request was that he belong to the same Post as the comrades who helped solve the mystery of the missing membership, Queen City Memorial VFW Post 8214, Manchester, New Hampshire.

“For so many veterans, joining the VFW is an important rite of passage in their lives, something they are intensely proud of,” Barrett said.