Assistance Program for Survivors , or TAPS , camp is a yearly tradition , a time for kids to play together and pay homage to their loved ones ' sacrifices . Watch as the children share losses and joy '' `` It 's just a great way to come and be together and acknowledge the loss , and learn coping mechanisms and ways to get through the loss , '' said Paul 's mother , Jackie . `` The kids , they love it . It 's just a great way they can talk about their dads but still have a great time and still just be together . '' TAPS is a nonprofit funded by private donations that has helped military families for 15 years . Families pay for their hotel rooms and a small registration fee for the camp . Donations usually cover the airfare . Military families often learn about the survivor camps in the casualty packet they receive when they are notified of a parent 's death . Each child at the camp gets assigned a military mentor who is at his or her side throughout the weekend . The mentors -- many of whom are
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In Paul Syverson 's photo album , there is only one family picture , taken right after his little sister was born . Paul , then 7 , and his father beam with an identical grin . Amy Syverson visits the Iwo Jima memorial with mentor Kohn Fisher as part of a camp for kids of fallen soldiers . Two months later , his father , Army Maj. Paul Syverson III , was killed in action in Balad , Iraq . Five years after his loss , the pain still reverberates with sickening suddenness . To help cope , Paul headed out to spend the Memorial Day weekend with a young military volunteer mentor instead of his dad . `` I try not to think about the bad stuff , '' Paul said . `` I just try to remember him as an awesome guy and what a great dad he was . '' Paul , 12 , and his sister , Amy , now a cheeky and rambunctious 5-year-old in pigtails , joined 350 other grieving children at a camp for military families in Washington this Memorial Day . For many , the Tragedy