By Jeff Shogol
ARLINGTON, Va. — Alshawn Jeffcoat is too young to know what Memorial Day is all about. But for the 7-year-old, whose brother was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq, just knowing that his brother served his country makes him happy.
"He helped people," said Alshawn, who often attaches a picture of his brother to his shirt, a small gesture in remembrance of a man he never knew.
Spc. Darius Jennings died in 2003.
On Friday, Alshawn was one of a dozen children who had lost loved ones in the military who were gathered in a park near the Pentagon, ready for some holiday weekend fun.
Sophia Cox was there, too. She’s also 7 years old, but she sounds pretty grown up when she talks about her father, who was killed in Afghanistan.
"My dad, he was a great soldier and he never gave up … and he died in a IED wreck," she said of Army Staff Sgt. Nathan Cox, who was killed by a roadside bomb in 2008.
The two were among about 375 children who attended Good Grief Camp, part of a four-day event sponsored by the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, an advocacy group for families of fallen servicemembers.
At the camp, children can share their emotions and learn they are not alone. They conduct a series of activities known as "grief work" to help them cope with the pain, according to TAPS.
