Staff Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, Laid to Rest in Queens
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- Staff Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, was killed July 17 in an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan — one of four American soldiers killed overseas in the past month, according to the U.S. Department of War.
- Rampersad was born in Trinidad and brought to the U.S. at age 2 by her mother; she tried to enlist at 18 but needed parental consent and signed up on her own days after turning 21, her aunt said.
- During seven years in the U.S. Army, Rampersad served in Hawaii and Germany with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, earned the Army Commendation Medal, and was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.
- In Jordan, Rampersad worked on military communication systems — a path a close family friend, Army veteran Deo Singh, had recommended because it was 'kind of behind the line and it's safer.'
- Ozone Park, Queens residents from countries including Colombia and Morocco gathered for a Monday vigil at her family's home, then lined sidewalks Friday as her flag-draped casket was escorted half a mile to Calvary Assembly of God Church for funeral services.
- Queens Borough President Donovan Richards told mourners: 'Angel Rampersad was not born in the United States of America, but Angel Rampersad was willing to die for the United States of America.'
Why it matters: Rampersad's death — one of four U.S. soldier fatalities overseas in the past month — puts a face on the human cost of ongoing Middle East deployments, while her Trinidad-to-Queens journey underscores that recent U.S. military casualties include immigrants and first-generation Americans who volunteered to serve an adopted country.
