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Fallen soldier from Ozone Park always wanted to serve, family says
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Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jul 23, 2026
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Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jul 23, 2026
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Although Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad wasn’t born in the United States, she was so set on defending the country she grew up in that she tried to enlist in the Army before she was old enough.
“At the age of 18, Angel knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life,” said her aunt, Judy Rackal, in front of the fallen soldier’s Ozone Park home on Thursday. “She was unable at 18 to sign up for the military without her mom's permission, so a few days after her 21st birthday, she made an appointment with the recruiter and signed up on her own.”
Rampersad, 28, immigrated to the United States from Trinidad with her mother and sister at 2 years old, Rackel said. She is believed to be the third service member to have been killed in an attack on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Until earlier this week, she’d been listed as missing.
“She fought for this country and she died for this country,” Rampersad’s mother Carol Acevedo said through tears. “I am a mother that was highly proud of her. I know she was really, really focused on what she was doing.”
As a flag on the family’s front yard waved at half-staff, Rampersad's grief-stricken loved ones spoke about her quiet strength and determination.
“In the face of every crisis that her family encountered, she would be the calming element all the time,” Rackal said, adding that Acevedo had at first struggled to raise her two girls in New York without much support. “Sarah, as we call her, learned strength, courage and determination by observing her mom, Carol.”
Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad
Department of Defense
Rampersad attended kindergarten, elementary school and middle school in Ozone Park. She then attended Forest Hills High School, where she played softball and bowled competitively. She studied at Queensborough Community College for two years and then transferred to CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice before enlisting in the military, Rackal said.
Close family friend Deo Singh remembered Rampersad asking him questions about his time in the military after he returned from his own deployment in Iraq.
“I told her, ‘If you're going to do it, do Army, and do [communications] because it’s kind of behind the line and it’s safer.’ She just took it from there and made her decision,” he said.
When Rampersad was killed, she was serving as a signal operations support specialist, according to the U.S. Army. Such specialists provide technical support and expertise in communications systems.
He said they kept in touch as she served in Hawaii and then Germany. “She just wanted to see the world, really. But she was happy doing what she did,” Singh said.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said local officials are going to work to rename the corner near Rampersad’s home on 133rd Avenue and 96th Street in her honor, along with one of the schools she attended.
“ Not all heroes wear capes. She wore the uniform,” he said. “We'll remember her as the drummer, singer, and star athlete at Forest Hills High School. And our country will remember that even though she wasn't born in the U.S., she loved it so much that she was willing to defend it with her own life.”
Rampersad leaves behind her wife, mother, an older sister, a nephew, and a dog Richards said. The community will be holding a vigil for Rampersad at 7 p.m. on Monday in front of her home.
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Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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