Away from the pageantry, about 120 children of fallen officers were treated to a special trip to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The daylong event, organized by the FBI’s National Academy in a longstanding partnership with the non-profit Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), is designed to provide the children of fallen officers an opportunity to meet other kids and talk to trained counselors and professionals in an environment where they feel safe to speak freely about grief and loss. They also meet police officers from around the world—National Academy students—and get an up-close, one-of-a-kind look at where the FBI trains its agents and intelligence analysts.

During their visit, the FBI Academy’s large gymnasium—where thousands of candidates have been forged into special agents over the years—was turned into an indoor carnival with moon bounces, a climbing wall, mini-golf, and a pitching booth. A shuttle took the kids in shifts to see the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team demonstrate tactical exercises. It was a chance for the young attendees to bond with new friends—a mission very similar to that of the National Academy, which brings mid-career law enforcement officers from around the world to train together for 10 weeks and build relationships.

“We have the kids meet other people and other kids going through the same situation they have,” said Brian Nadeau, a special agent in the FBI’s Baltimore Division who has helped organize the annual gathering with C.O.P.S. since 1994. “This morning they were all nervous when they left their hotel to come here. But by the end, the smiles on their faces really tell the story.”