Since the acts of terror on September 11, 2001, around 5,000 kids have lost their parents to war. It is the kind of loss that others who have not experienced it cannot understand.
James was just a month old in 2005 when his father, a Navy medic, died in a helicopter crash in Iraq. James doesn't remember his dad, and yet, he misses him so much. Every year on Father's Day he becomes deeply sad. The other kids say they understand, but he knows that they don't.
Enter Camp Hometown Heroes. It's a summer camp just outside of Milwaukee, WI. It's a special place where the children of fallen soldiers can bond and mourn together.
"I miss him because he's my dad. I might not have met him in person, but he's always with me," James told CBS' Steve Hartman. "[At camp,] I get to cry, and they can say 'I know how you feel,' and I know they know how I feel. And that's a great feeling."
For many of the kids, camp is their first chance to just let it out. To help in that effort, they do a balloon release, where campers write messages to their loved ones.
At the end of camp, the kids look forward to the balloon release. They write special messages to their lost loved one on helium balloons and release them into the air. Then, together, they embrace each other, tearfully — they can finally say goodbye.
Dylan Simon lost his dad in 2005. Dylan was a camper for four years, but this year, he's back as a counselor.
"My first balloon release was one of the hardest because I had to physically let go of everything that I was holding onto over the years," said a camper-turned-counselor, Dylan Simon who lost his father.
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