New York, Aug 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian-origin US Army Staff Sergeant Angel Rampersad, who was killed during the ongoing Iran conflict, was accorded full military honours at her funeral in New York, with hundreds of mourners, senior public officials and members of the armed forces gathering to pay tribute to her sacrifice.
Rampersad, who immigrated to the United States from Trinidad at the age of two, lost her life in an Iranian missile strike on a US military base in Jordan last month while serving on deployment.
Speaking at the funeral service, her mother, Carol Acevedo, remembered her daughter as a true hero. “My daughter was a real hero,” she said, as family members, soldiers and community members gathered to bid her a final farewell.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who had ordered flags across the state to fly at half-mast in her honour, praised Rampersad’s courage and commitment to national service.
“Staff Sergeant Rampersad lived a life of courage and selflessness. New York, and our nation, are safer because of brave Americans like her who answer the call to serve,” the Governor said.
A police motorcade escorted her body to the church service and later to a Long Island cemetery, where she was buried with full military honours.
New York Mayor Zohair Mamdani also attended the funeral despite his opposition to the US military campaign against Iran. In a statement, he said Rampersad’s “courage and sacrifice will be remembered” across New York, adding that overseas conflicts deeply affect families and communities at home.
Rampersad had been stationed in Germany with an Army Air and Missile Defence Command before being deployed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan during the conflict.
Her remains were received with military honours by US President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at Dover Air Force Base on July 22 after being repatriated from Jordan.
According to the report, 18 US military personnel have been killed since the Iran conflict began on February 28 following Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent involvement of US forces.
Rampersad, along with four other personnel killed after renewed hostilities resumed following the collapse of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding, was initially listed among the Pentagon’s Iran War casualties. The report said those names were later moved to a separate category titled “Overseas Operations.”
Two other soldiers — Captain Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Private First Class Isabella Gonzales, 19 — were killed alongside Rampersad in the July 17 missile attack. A day later, Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed in a drone strike on a US base in Iraq.
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