FARMINGTON, MO. (AP) -- A hunting camp near St. Louis is providing veterans with place to cope.
In November 2006, surrounded by the quiet solitude of nature, William "Mike" White allowed six months of grief to flow. He was sitting in a tree stand in the woods of Lewiston, Mo., hunting for the first time without his son, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
As White let his emotions go, an idea came in. His son was never coming home, but White decided to do something
for those who would. He returned home to North Carolina and focused on finding a farm in his native Missouri where injured soldiers could hunt.
Last month, White, hosted his third group of veterans during deer season at the 140-acre site, which includes a three-bedroom
house. He named the property "Chris Neal Farm," after his son.
He also created a nonprofit foundation - naming it Camp Hope, after a military outpost in Iraq - to raise money and pay for all
of the soldiers' expenses. White says the property has become a camp for healing.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)