 Sun-Sentinel -- Cpl. Pablo Mayorga, a native of Ecuador who lived in Margate, joined the military to show his love for his adopted country. He died for his country last weekend.
"He felt that we have to give something back to this country because we got a lot from this country," said Mayorga's cousin, Edison Gomez, of Fort Lauderdale. "When he saw Sept. 11, he decided to join. He loved what he was doing. He loves the military, loves the Marines." 
Mayorga, 33, was killed Saturday along with three other Marines when their vehicle struck an explosive device in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, according to a release Monday from the Defense Department.
He moved to Fort Lauderdale and then Margate in the late 1990s. He worked in pool construction and cleaning for about five years. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, his life changed.
Mayorga joined the Marines in the winter of 2002 and was sent to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he lived with his wife, Karina, and his son, Alexander, 8. He had a teenage daughter from a previous marriage who also lives in North Carolina.
"He was a loving father, a very good friend," said Sulca Oswaldo, of Beacon, N.Y., the godmother of Mayorga's oldest daughter. "He was very outgoing. His dream was he wanted to be in the U.S. [military] so he accomplished what he wanted. It's really sad in our hearts."
His sister, Sandra Mayorga, 20, of Lauderhill, said, "He was just a special person, a role model for me especially."
Born in Ecuador, he graduated from high school there. Then his relatives in New York urged Mayorga and his parents to move.
"Ecuador is like any other country in South America," Gomez said. "To find jobs is difficult and we have the opportunity to come to this country and you can't find a better quality of life."
Mayorga's parents, Betty and Rodrigo Mayorga, who live in Fort Lauderdale, flew to North Carolina to be with his wife.
"She's seven months pregnant," Gomez said. "Can you imagine? In the beginning, when the Marines show up at your door, you know somebody's dead.
She rejected the Marines, she didn't want to talk to them. She said she just wanted her husband back."
Gomez said Mayorga's body is expected in Fort Lauderdale this week for burial.
"We hope the lives lost and his life are not lost in vain," Gomez said.
"We are immigrants and we are fighting for this country and we want to make sure everyone knows they are heroes. Every immigrant comes to the United States looking for a better life. That's why we came. But we're paying the price fighting for this country." |
I would like to say thank you to you and the other Marines who were in that Humvee with you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
Semper Fi Devil Dog!