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Marine Sgt. Luis Mercado Jr. is the most popular man in his platoon when a package arrives in Iraq from his mom in Orange County. Surrounded by many soldiers, he distributes supplies of socks, drinks and food. Two large boxes of potato chips "disappear in 10 seconds, as if [the soldiers] have never eaten chips before," says Mercado.

Luz Mercado sends out the care packages daily to boost the soldiers' morale. Sponsoring her son's platoon has become her mission since their deployment to Iraq. "We have a mini Sam's Club in our garage," Luis Mercado Sr. says. "All you need is a shopping cart to go down the aisles...Things we take for granted, they appreciate a great deal. At 7:30 a.m., it is already 137 degrees there, so drinks are very important."

Luz operated as a one-person charity for months; now she is affiliated with the non-profit organization Support Our Heroes. "it was getting costly, about $30 to $40, to send the packages," says Luis Sr. The couple have been overwhelmed by the public's response to recent publicity, which sparked donations from families and organizations. "One child sent a letter with a check for $5. He said it was all he could do now, but when he gets older he wants to be a Marine," says Luis Sr..

Luz says the soldiers are doing more for her than she can for them. "Whether we believe in the war or not, they're giving us their lives."

December 24, 2004

'Not a whole family' at Christmas, Marine's dad says

By Alice Kenny
Times Herald-Record
akenny@th-record.com

New Windsor - Inflatable snowmen bobbed in front of a flashing "Merry Christmas" sign at the raised ranch next door to Marine Sgt. Luis Mercado's parents' home. But at the Mercados', wilting yellow ribbons tied to the maple tree out front formed the only decorations. Inside, there was no tree, no cr�che, no hint of the holiday.

Mercado, 21, who was deployed to Iraq in May, was supposed to be home for the holidays. But with casualties in Iraq's deadly battles doubling during the past month, Mercado, like more than 20,000 other troops, was ordered to extend his tour, at least until March.

"It's hard watching everyone exchanging gifts and going home to their families," said the sergeant's father, Luis Mercado Sr., 43, clenching his hands on their glass kitchen table. "We're a family, but not a whole family."

Every second of every day, Luis said, he, his wife, Luz, and their younger son, Christopher, worry about Luis Jr., a Newburgh Free Academy graduate. Is he OK? they wonder. Is he alive?

Earlier this week, the father peered at a front-page photo of a soldier being dragged to safety by two fellow soldiers after an insurgent's bloody attack on a mess hall near Mosul.

"I called Chris down," the father recalled. "'Is this your brother?' I asked."

It turned out the soldier shown in the photo was someone else's son.

Luz, also 43, who corresponds with her son via e-mail, leaves her AOL on around the clock, the volume cranked up full blast. That way, she said, anywhere in the house she can hear the announcement, "You've got mail."

The last time he wrote was a classic, she said, laughing as she pointed to a photo of her dark, skinny son, his stomach plumped with a pillow and a huge smile spread above his faux-white beard. He wanted to play Santa for the troops, she said, as he had for his family at their reunion just one year ago. Like Luz, who has embarked on a one-woman campaign to send care packages to the troops, he wanted to do something to pick up their spirits. He asked her to send the Santa suit ... and 2,000 candy canes.

She doesn't know if he got them yet. She hasn't heard from him in a week.

"I wrote him and said, 'Just send me a note that says OK,'" Luz said, her voice shaking. "You don't have to go into particulars."