The history behind Our Heroes' Tree

Marlene Lee and Stephanie Pickup co-founded Our Heroes’ Tree℠ in 2005 to honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s military families. Our Heroes’ Tree consists of community members creating handmade ornaments honoring service members from past and present wars, conflicts and peacetime operations. These ornaments are then placed on a tree. Stories about individual service members can also be submitted and displayed in a binder near the tree. With several thousand Hoosier military members currently deployed overseas, the Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) at Purdue University saw this program as a means to pay special tribute to these families in the state of Indiana.

Founders of the Our Heroes' Tree program

Inspired by her volunteer work with injured soldiers and their families, Marlene Lee authored The Hero in My Pocket, a keepsake book for children affected by the loss of a service member. Marlene designed Hero to help facilitate communication among children and adults on the difficult topic of grief and recovery. Marlene and co-author Lil Ingram published That’s My Hope, a story of hope and inspiration for families of wounded warriors.

Stephanie Pickup helped her young children through her husband’s two Army deployments overseas during the holidays; she also led an Army Family Readiness Group for more than two years. Based on her experiences, Stephanie, a mother of four, authored The Soldier’s Tree, a book for children (ages 3-6 years) whose loved one is deployed during holiday time.