People lined the streets in Queens, New York, on Friday to honor a soldier killed in Jordan during the U.S. conflict with Iran.
Staff Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad, 28, was remembered during a funeral service livestreamed to the public, as emotional friends and family members shared their memories of a woman who loved the ocean, sunsets, and playing drums for her church.
“My daughter was a real hero, and I will miss her dearly,” Rampersad’s mother Carol Acevedo said. “Love your kids, hug them. I don’t have mine to hug anymore.”
The fallen soldier’s sister Laura Tamby told mourners Rampersad wanted to join the military as soon as she turned 18, but waited to turn 21 to enlist, at her mother’s urging.
“Sarah chose the Army because she wanted to see the world, but she also wanted to make a meaningful contribution to society. She wanted her life to stand for something,” Tamby said. “She wanted to serve others, and she did.”
Rampersad was born in Trinidad and immigrated to the U.S. as a toddler with her family. State and local leaders spoke about Rampersad’s contributions, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking directly to the soldier’s mother.
“Thank you mom for bringing her here,” Hochul said. “I wish people would take notice of the fact of how many people came here, being born elsewhere, who actually step up and are willing to shed blood for a country that they were not born in.”
“Although… Angel was not born in the United States, she was willing to die for the United States of America, and that is noble,” said Queens borough president Donovan Richards Jr.
Rampersad died on July 17 in an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, along with 19-year-old Pvt. Isabella Gonzales and Capt. Tyler James Feehan, 25. As mourners remembered Rampersad Friday, the U.S. military’s public list of deaths linked to Operation Epic Fury did not include the three who died in Jordan, or a fourth soldier who died in a July incident in Iraq. Instead, the military listed them as casualties of “overseas operations.”
Commanding General Glenn Henke told mourners gathered to remember Rampersad he spent time this week speaking with soldiers who served with her, asking what her family and friends should know about her time in service.
“They loved her,” he said. “They also made one thing absolutely clear… Staff Sgt. Rampersad was an exceptional soldier.”
