He says the land he bought for the building will pay tribute to his father who died in a Golden Knight mission 50 years ago.
Kenneth Wasley says building this center is a lifelong dream--a special space he longed for as a military child grappling with loss. His dad, Golden Knight Mike Wasley, was killed alongside 13 of his fellow knights during a mission back in 1973. Wasley is also honoring his nephew, Dylan, a talented young chef killed by a drunk driver in 2020.
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"During those times, it was a little bit difficult and I always felt like there needed to be support for children for myself as kids--we really didn't have that," Wasley said. "That's a big focus for us--it's to create healing for children."
Through his organization, Children of Fallen Heroes, Wasley bought 82 acres of land on Morrison Bridge Road in Vass. His vision is to build a 73,000-square-foot facility offering arts and science programs for military children of all ages.
"We send a lot of these kids to different camps for help and so forth but if the foundation is broken at home, it doesn't work," Wasley said.
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Wasley says the plan is to create a central location to offer programs that will teach kids about things like robotics, aviation, agriculture and horse riding--programs the organization has been facilitating nationwide for the past decade. Children of Fallen Heroes is currently in talks with corporate sponsors to begin fundraising for the $15 million facility.
"We've got a lot of fallen heroes and heroes today that we need to honor, you know," Wasley said. "We're blessed to have them."