Christine Bornemann
Founder,
Operation Proud Hearts

Life as a military spouse is not easy.  They don’t earn any medals, but they serve our nation behind the scenes with a strength that is tested by long periods of separation, the responsibility of raising a family alone, and dealing with the anxiety of not knowing if their loved one is safe. 

Christine Bornemann of Rocky Point was married for almost 10 years to a Marine who had served a full tour in Desert Storm. “We experienced struggles like every military family,” she says. “The structure of a military family is different. Soldiers can come home with a plethora of problems and one of the most common is PTSD [post traumatic stress disorder]. I went through counseling. PTSD affected my whole family.”
Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t survive.

Christine came across a box of letters she had saved that she had written to her husband. After re-reading them she realized that the feelings she experienced were being felt by many other military wives. She wondered if they would want to read her collection of letters that included, as she says, “the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Christine published the letters on her MySpace page and within a few hours of posting them received an outpouring of responses from other military wives who were looking for a forum that they could call their own. With the huge response, the conception of Operation Proud Hearts (OPH) had begun. “I believe it happened almost simultaneously,” Christine says about the speed in which people “friended” each other. “What was something that should have taken days or months took only hours,” she says.

OPH is now a non-profit providing morale and activities for the military and their extended families. “There was still so much emphasis on the soldier and not on the whole family unit.  We understand more than anyone.  We care, there’s a passion there,” she says.

Christine says that a big stressor for many families is isolation. OPH provides a “heartline” that is staffed by operators 24/7 for all military and extended families. “We have a lot of resources,” she says, and notes that OPH provides much-needed grief counseling.

Christine would like the organization to be more active with the population of veterans on Long Island and is seeking the help of volunteer veterans, their families and extended families. “You don’t have to give money, you can drive someone to a doctor appointment or make them lunch,” she says.

OPH is 100-percent volunteer-run and has extended its reach across the country in part by producing free comedy shows. Comedian Lewis Black gave OPH his endorsement and Christine says proudly, “Lewis Black supports three charities, and we’re one of them.” With the help of Black’s more than 45,000 Facebook fans, OPH’s comedy shows are a big draw.

Christine works with other military non-profits to help families who wait and pray for their soldier’s safe return. “We work closely with Hug A Hero,” she says about the huggable military dolls that are made into the soldier’s likeness. “They’re very popular. They have a voice recorder and a little pocket in the back of the doll to keep a [keepsake] letter. It’s a perfect idea, because we work with letters.” With the help of volunteers from OPH, children in the Rocky Point school district send out monthly postcards to units deployed overseas. “Soldiers love to get the postcards,” she says.

Christine is now married to an Iraqi Freedom veteran and they are raising five children together. Being a military wife is an experience like no other, Christine says. “We have a common goal. Military families helping other military families.”

For more information or to volunteer go to www.ProudHearts.org or email Christine@proudhearts.org

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