On Veterans Day, KSAT 12’s SA Live featured our founder, Chef Mark Sierra: Iraq War veteran, owner of Compadres Hill Country Cocina in Boerne, and the heart behind the Purple Heart Project. The video below starts at Mark’s segment, 11:27 into the episode.
Originally aired on SA Live on KSAT 12, November 11, 2026.
From One Dinner to a Statewide Gala
What started as a steak dinner honoring five Purple Heart recipients has grown into an annual Gala recognizing ten. Now in its seventh year, the Purple Heart Gala brings together veterans, their families, and supporters from across Texas. Mark called it the Super Bowl of everything we host during the year.
This year we also honored a posthumous recipient, Army Pfc. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, who lost her life in Jordan. Her family joined us. Read more about the evening.
More Than One Night
For Mark, the mission goes far beyond the Gala. We honor recipients and their families, because many of the wounds people carry are not the ones you can see. Throughout the year the Purple Heart Project supports Gold Star families, provides scholarships, and helps military families with everything from youth sports to other financial needs.
As Mark put it on the show, this is not about right or left. It is everybody doing something for another human being. He credits the community that supported his family’s restaurant from the very beginning, and he is determined to pay that kindness forward.
A Simple Reminder
Mark’s message for Veterans Day, and every day: if you see a veteran, shake their hand, say thank you, maybe buy them a meal. In his words, “a thank you goes a very long way.”
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