W e l c o m e

Copyright 2009 - Support Our Heroes * Another Website by mikedantonio.com

Site Map

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."

September 22, 2004

One-woman organization helps troops
Sergeant's mom sends supplies to platoon of many

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

New Windsor - Luz Mercado wiped away tears as she packed care packages for her son and his fellow Marines. Sgt. Luis Mercado, 21, phoned yesterday to tell her that he and his platoon, already stationed on the front line of Iraq for the past six months, will likely remain there until March.

The news reinforced Luz's determination to somehow help.

"They're giving so much more than we're giving them," Luz said. "Whether we believe in the war or not, they're giving us their lives."

Luz founded Support our Heroes, a nonprofit, one-woman organization, sending supplies every other day to American troops in Iraq.

Initially, the mother sent supplies only to her son.

She decided to adopt his whole platoon of nearly many men and women when Sgt. Mercado told her about fellow Marines who never received supplies from home.

The men get three meals and lots of water, her son told her. But men need power drinks and energy bars for pick-me-ups during 14-hour days filled with bombs and bloodshed.

They need new socks to replace the ones they sweat and wear through in the 130-degree desert.

So the 43-year-old mom and part-time jeweler converted a corner of her garage into a warehouse. For months, she and her husband, Luis Sr., sent the supplies and footed the bills themselves. When cash got tight, Luz started soliciting contributions from nearly everyone she knows. Queen Nail Design of Newburgh donated 100 bottles of shampoo. HOGs motorcycle club, where her husband is a member, gave cash. Members of the Latino Democratic Committee of Orange County emptied their pockets when she approached them earlier this month, donating $180 on the spot and pledging another $250.

With or without contributions, Luz keeps up her mailings. It's all she can do for her son, she said, and the only thing he has asked for.

In an e-mail correspondence Sgt. Mercado sent her and the Record, the sergeant wrote, "I'm looking out for my troops É to keep their morale going. A lot is happening here in Iraq and all I ask for is some type of support."