One of the U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian attack on an American base is being remembered in Queens as a cherished “social butterfly” from a proud military family — someone whose smile, loved ones said Wednesday, could “light up any room.”
Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, had dreamed of seeing the world while serving her country. That future was cut short Friday when she was killed in the attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, friends and family told The Post.
“I don’t think there’s an emotion invented for this type of tragedy yet. Sad would be an understatement,” said Deacon Carlos Garcia, a neighbor and longtime family friend. “It’s a tragic loss for our country, for our neighborhood, for the family.”
Rampersad, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice graduate who also played the drums, had set her sights on joining the Army early in life, Garcia said.
“She was strong-willed. Always wanted to go into the military. She tried to sign up at 18 and her mother said no,” Garcia said. “Her uncle served in the Army. Her brother-in-law served in the Marines.”
“She died for her country doing what she loved,” he added.
Retired Sgt. Logan Thomson, 30, who served alongside Rampersad for three years at a base in Hawaii, remembered her as magnetic, outgoing and eager for adventure.
“Everything about her — her smile, the way she carried herself — she could bring light to any room. She was just a social butterfly, able to make friends anywhere and everywhere she met,” he said, noting that she handled radio work on the base.
“One of her big things was she wanted to see the world. The Army was one of her ways of doing it,” said Thomson.
He said he was crushed by her untimely death.
“I keep just replaying in my own head what she went through in the last moments, and it just tears me apart every time because it’s something I just know she did not deserve,” he said.
Rampersad’s family remembered her as a brave defender of underdogs.
“Our beloved Sergeant Angel Sarah Rampasad was a gentle giant,” Rampersad’s family said in a gut-wrenching statement.
“She stood up for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, a defender and a friend. She loved her family fiercely and will live on in the hearts of everyone she touched.”
Rampersad was one of three soldiers reportedly killed during the missile attack on the US base in Jordan, including Army First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii, and Pfc. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas.
The Pentagon identified Rampersad on Tuesday, as American forces bombed Iran for an 11th straight night.
Another US service member, Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, of North Carolina, was reportedly also killed disarming a downed Iranian drone in Iraq on Sunday.
Rampersad was assigned to the Germany-based 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Her body is scheduled to be sent to the US from Germany, Garcia said.
“They’re doing what’s called a dignified transfer. The body’s coming from Germany, I believe. The family will be there to greet the remains, and then the Army takes possession,” he said.
