NATICK — Cary Holmes, a reference librarian at Morse Institute Library, was reviewing records as part of a project to dedicate a memorial to the town’s fallen service members when he made a stunning discovery.

Crammed in the back of a dusty folder was a copy of a 2½-page, single-spaced typed letter from the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS — America’s first intelligence agency — to the widow of Army Sergeant Alfred DeFlumeri, who had died in World War II on March 26, 1944. It was mailed to 1 Harrison St. in Natick and dated Aug. 6, 1945.