COEUR D'ALENE -- A summer camp near the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene has the unique mission of providing a safe place for children of servicemen and women where they can learn there are other kids who are dealing with the same adult problems they deal with everyday.

The camp is called Operation Purple and kids come not only to get involved in all the fun activities of summer camp but more importantly to better understand what it’s like to have a parent in the military.

The pride all 174 kids at Operation Purple feel about their moms and dads is displayed on a special wall of honor decorated with pictures and messages to show how much their parents mean to them.

“I am very proud of my dad; he is my hero,” Kellsye Chambers said.

“There is a special place in your heart for somebody that gets deployed and them being gone makes it kind of painful,” Dari Beatley, whose dad just got back from a year in Iraq, said.

These kids are from all over the region, they're all different ages and like different things but they share a unique bond in having family members serving in the Armed Forces. All of the kids at camp don’t have to try and explain what it’s like having a parent in the military because everyone here already knows.

“It’s nice ‘cause I know kids now that are in the same situation you are and understand where your coming from,” Morgan Helman said.

“Sometimes it’s pretty frustrating. He has missed my birthday two years in a row,” Kellsye said.

“I think it’s just worrying about the dangerous stuff that they are doing and or what could happen,” Dari added.

At Operation Purple the goal is to make those worries fade into the fun of summer camp. For example on Wednesday kids were learning survival skills, not just how to survive in the wilderness but how to also cope with their everyday lives back home.

There are nearly 70 Operation Purple camps through the country which are all sponsored by the National Military Family Association. For more information on Operation Purple, click here.