Over in Southwest Queens, locals gathered for a vigil after NYC-raised soldier Sgt. Angel Rampersad was killed amid the war with Iran.
By JACK DELANEY
OZONE PARK — A tight-knit community in Southwest Queens is grieving the loss of Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, an Ozone Park native who was killed by an Iranian air strike on July 17 while stationed in Jordan.
“Behind the uniform was a deeply loved person whose absence will forever be felt,” said Sam Esposito, president of the Ozone Park Residents Block Association, at a brief press conference on Thursday.
Rampersad, 28, was born in Trinidad but moved to the Southwest Queens neighborhood at age two, attending P.S. 108, M.S. 202, Forest Hills High School, and later both Queensborough Community College and John Jay College.
Rampersad enlisted in the army shortly after turning 21, spending three years in Hawaii and Germany, respectively, before reenlisting and moving to her new post at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. According to her adoptive uncle, Deo Singh, Rampersad texted her mother — who spurred her to attend college before entering service — regularly, sending passages of scripture.
Rampersad’s mother, Carol Acevedo, and wife, whom she met while in the armed forces, traveled to Dover, Delaware, shortly after her death to take part in a military memorial procession.
On Monday night, residents of Ozone Park and beyond gathered outside the family’s home on 96th St for their own candlelight vigil.
“Sgt. Rampersad’s courage and sacrifice will be remembered not just in Queens, but across all five boroughs,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a statement. “My deepest condolences are with her family, loved ones, and all those grieving this profound loss.”ç
Rampersad’s passing drew national attention, with Governor Kathy Hochul criticizing President Donald Trump after the fallen soldier was apparently removed from an official casualty list.
At last week’s press conference, more than 20 journalists clumped like schooling fish on the corner of 96th St, thrusting their cameras and microphones into a shallow front yard as they clamored to ask the grieving family just one more question.
Down the block, in the sunny silence of the open street, a few neighbors peered over at the commotion. “It’s heartbreaking,” a man said, and two women leaning against a railing nodded in agreement.
“As a neighbor said, ‘She was one of us,’” shared Ruben Cruz, a Southeast Queens resident and founder of the Queens Pet Pantry who attended the vigil on Monday. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. She was a New Yorker, and she fought for us.”
