Newburgh Free Academy, Class of 2001.
Marine Lcpl Elizabeth Reyes
Lance Corp. Brandon Spagnoli
MARINE GYSGT LUIS A. MERCADO JR.
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NEW: Article posted on 11/26/2011
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."
- Nam Knights MC of Orange County, NY
- Robert A. Caridi of Chester, NY
- Lynne & Frank Pace Of Monroe, N.Y. For their donations of Candy for the troopsThe Covenant Review, LLC
- Bartlett Family - Walden, NY
- Resnick Family - Lords Valley, PA
- American Legion Post 111 - Ellenville, NY
- Eckler Family - Newburgh, NY
- Stumpk Family - Newburgh, NY
- Everett Family - Newburgh, NY
- Bain Family - Cornwall, NY
- Crapanzano Family - Fort Montgomery, NY
- Sweeney Family - New Windsor, NY
- Rudel Family - West Park, NY
- CSEA Local 836 Orange County - Middletown, NY
- Glassman Family - New Paltz, NY
- Middletown Medical - Middletown, NY
- Nevins Family - Campbell Hall, NY
- Queen Nail Design - Newburgh
- Smitchger Realty - Cornwall, NY
- Duarte Family - New Windsor, NY
- Rivera Family - Middletown, NY
- Chardavoyne Family - Warwick, NY
- Fox Family - Kingston, NY
- Washingtonville High School, Class of 2004 - Washingtonville, NY
- Washingtonville High School, Lunch Mgrs., Robert Gellman and Robin Berry - Washingtonville, NY
- Lions Club of New Windsor, New Windsor, NY
- Middle Hope FD, Ladies AUX., Middle Hope, NY
- Orange County NY Harley Owners Group - New Windsor
- Washingtonville Boys Scouts, Troop 316 - Washingtonville, NY
- UPS Store - Vails Gate, NY
- Newburgh Free Academy HS, JROTC - Newburgh, NY
- Ellen Mandia - New Windsor, NY
- Figs Auto Driving School - Washingtonville, NY
- St. Vincent de Paul Society Sacred Heart Church- Newburgh, NY
- Ms. Carol Levy- Weston , Ct.
- Mr. & Mrs. Goldsher - Highland Park, IL
- M. Sheirer - Brooklyn, NY
- Sara Kendall - New York, NY
- Business & Professional Women Of Goshen- Goshen, NY
- Westchester Medical Center- Sharon Ciafone Bruce R. Hocking- Elmwood Pk, NY
- Laforge Family- North Port, NY
- Talbot Family- Newburgh, NY
- Monica Sagner- Beacon, NY
- Coatti Family- Nanuet, NY
- Ms. Betsy Jordan- West Nyack, NY
- New Windsor AUX. PD - New Windsor, NY
- Coast Guard Aux., Flotilla 20-02 - Cornwall, NY
- Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club - Orange County, NY
- Cathie Gaspard - Newburgh, NY
- The Latino Democratic Committee - Sonia Ayala Shop Rite Of Vail's Gate
- Zabriskie Family - Highland Mills, NY
- Morse Family - Equinunk, PA
- John Decker - Hopatoung, New Jersey
- Eugene Kelly - Short Hills, New Jersey
- Sylvia Morra - New York, NY
- Mr & Mrs. Chase - Chappaqua, NY
- Rosemarie Vitanza - Brooklyn, NY
- Jeannie Barsamian- Princeton, New Jersey
- Rita Forsyth - Park Ridge, New Jersey
- John Foley - Redding, CT.
- Edwin Guinn- Stamford, CT.
- Chris Manice- Allston, MA.
- Laura Boyd - Bayside, NY
- Sima Ghadamian - New York, NY
- Richard Morton - New York, NY
- Washingtonville Class of 2006
Class Officers: President: Collen Frisbie, Vice President: Erik Johnson, Secretary: Lauren Morelli, Treasurer: Damaris Fuster, Class
Advisors: Mrs. Angelillo & Mrs. Girton - Ms. Doris Blau- New York, NY
- Rai Corp. Italian Radio T.V. - New York, NY
- Ian & Aimee Singer- New Providence, NJ
- Strongman Family - Highland, NY
- Cunniffe Family - Ozone Park, NY
- Bedford Family - Middletown, NY
- F. Smith - Washingtonville, NY
- Mark Family - Ossining, NY
- Mr. Fred Diehl- Cornwall, NY
- Williams Family - New Windsor, NY
- Mr. Stanford N. Cowan- New Windsor, NY
- Floody Family- Monroe, NY
- Mr. Theodore Nielsen- Walden, NY
- Woloszczak Family - Warwick, NY
- Ms. Eleanor Romanos- Cornwall, NY
- Yurchuck Family- Florida, NY
- Ms. Elizabeth Roventini- Sleepy Hollow, NY
- Suzanne Fischer - Mahopac, NY
- Ann & Peter Wright - (Lt. Col Wright, NFA)
- The Flag Guys Of New Windsor, NY
- Doris Candros- Monroe, N.Y.
The following are being recognized for having contributed to the Support Our Heroes Campaign