KING, N.C. — As America celebrated its birthday this week, some North Carolina nonprofits are working together to celebrate some of the country’s heroes by providing a special camp for the kids of ill, wounded or fallen military members.

What You Need To Know

  • Camp Corra and YMCA Northwest North Carolina Camp Hanes have partnered together to offer a free summer camp to military and veteran kids

  • More than 300 kids are participating in the two-week camp this year

  • Camp Corral has 18 camps across the country in 15 states

“Being a camper, you have some form of responsibility and control over what you do as yourself. But as a counselor, you have to completely change that. And you still have more similar responsibilities and similar control over things, but you have a bit more responsibility towards other people,” said Tyler Wagner, a counselor for Camp Corral at the YMCA’s Camp Hanes in Stokes County’s King community.

Wagner has been coming to this camp since he was 8 years old. He’s 16 now.

“The joke of being a second home, I take that to heart, because I've always been able to come back to this place and recognize things, no matter what. And it was still somewhat the same or the same,” Wagner said.

He’s a military kid, just like all the children he’s supervising. The camp gives children of ill, wounded and fallen military heroes an opportunity to experience summer camp for free.

Wagner's father is a captain in the military. He was once in infantry before suffering a brain injury from combat.

“In the Battle of Ramadi, which was one of the most bloodiest battles of the Iraqi war, and they were in a Bradley and drove over a IED,” Wagner said.

The camp has provided opportunities for Wagner and the other kids to escape the stress of home and connect with kids just like them. It's one reason Wagner became a counselor himself.

“Treated well by my camp counselors, they were always like very kind. And they always seemed so caring, and they did such a fantastic job. So I was really attracted to the idea of the position when just the general care from other people,” Wagner said.

He says he just wants to give these kids what he once had.

“To make sure that everyone can have that same fun because I remember. I think about it still all the time of how that once was and even sometimes still is for some things. And it's just I want everyone to have that same experience. Just make sure it's possible because some of this is not going to happen anywhere else for some of these kids,” Wagner said.

More than 300 kids are participating in the two-week camp this year, and Camp Corral has 18 camps across the country in 15 states.