Clyde Childress wanted to make this July Fourth a day to help wounded service members and their families.

So yesterday, he held an Independence Day celebration at his 44-acre estate in Powhatan County to raise money for the nonprofit Families of the Wounded Fund.

"When I heard about Families of the Wounded, I knew this was something I had to do," said Childress, a retired Marine who served in the Vietnam War. He planned the event for a year.

The community responded, as thousands turned out for food, music and patriotic messages. Beneath tents on the lawn, families enjoyed hamburgers and barbecue while musicians with the Richmond and Petersburg symphonies and a choir from six local churches performed a rousing concert of patriotic music.

The event was free, but many people opened their wallets or checkbooks and made donations to the Families of the Wounded Fund.

"This is going better than anyone from the organization expected," said William G. Haneke, president of the nonprofit.

Haneke, who was wounded in Vietnam, and a group of other local veterans founded the nonprofit in 2005 to provide financial support to the families and caregivers of service members while they receive medical treatment at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

"They often have to give up employment to spend time at the bedside of their loved ones," Haneke said.

The group has raised more than $1.2 million since 2005 and distributed about $700,000 to families to help them cover expenses, said R. Calvert Esleeck Jr., a board member of the group.

"We started out giving each family who came here $1,000," Esleeck said. "And then we were able to raise it to $3,000 and $5,000, and now we are at $6,000."

The event drew people from all over the Richmond area. Jay Clark, a Midlothian resident who attended to hear his daughter Holly play piccolo in the orchestra, showed his patriotism by wearing a red, white and blue tie over his golf shirt.

"This is what the country needs, a boost of confidence about who we are," Clark said. "And to remember that there is a price to pay for what we have."

Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com.