On Friday, New York bid farewell to Indian-origin US Army Sergeant Angel Rampersad, who was killed in action in the Iran war, with a hero’s funeral. Sergeant Rampersad’s mother, Carol Acevedo, described her daughter as a ‘real hero’ during the funeral, which was attended by officials, soldiers, and hundreds of mourners. Rampersad, who immigrated to the US from Trinidad at the age of two, was killed last month in an Iranian missile strike on a US Army base in Jordan. New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered flags to be flown half-staff across the state to mourn her, praising Rampersad as a brave American who lived a life of courage and selflessness. The city and state came together to honor her on her final journey, with a motorcade led by dozens of New York Police on motorcycles accompanying her body to the funeral services and burial at a Long Island cemetery with military honors.
New York Mayor Zohair Mamdani joined the mourners at the church, stating that Sergeant Rampersad’s courage and sacrifice will be remembered across the city. President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth received her body with military honors when it was brought from Jordan to the Dover Air Force Base on July 22. Rampersad was based in Germany with an Army Air and Missile Defence Command but was deployed to the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan for the war. So far, 18 US military personnel have been killed in the Iran war, which began on February 28. Rampersad and four others were initially listed among the casualties of the Iran War but were later moved to a new list called ‘Overseas Operations’.
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📰 Source: Mangalorean News