AUGUST 1, 2026

Army Staff Sgt. Angel Rampersad, killed in Iranian attack in Jordan, is buried in her Queens neighborhood

Army Staff Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, Queens, was killed on July 17, 2026, during an enemy attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Her funeral was held July 31 at Calvary Assembly of God Church in Ozone Park, with first responders and community members lining the streets to salute her flag-draped casket. She was one of three U.S. service members killed in Jordan in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack, according to U.S. Central Command.

Rampersad was born in Trinidad and brought to the United States at age 2 by her mother, Carol Acevedo. According to her aunt, Judy Rackal, Rampersad attempted to enlist at 18 but could not do so without her mother's permission; days after her 21st birthday, she made an appointment with a recruiter and enlisted on her own. She studied at Queensborough Community College before graduating from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York.

She was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52d Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany, and served previously in Hawaii. In Jordan she worked as a 25U Signal Operations Support Specialist — a communications role — and was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. She had earned several awards including the Army Commendation Medal over her seven years of service, according to the U.S. Department of War.

The two other service members killed in the same July 17 attack were identified as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, Fox News reported. All three were deployed to Jordan in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the international campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.