By Stephen Stirling
In Jackson Heights Saturday, a community that has experienced tremendous loss due to the war in Iraq unveiled a permanent tribute to one of its fallen soldiers in a tearful ceremony.
U.S. Army Cpl. Jonathan Rivadeneira died Sept. 14, 2007, in Baghdad along with two other soldiers after an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations — the fourth soldier from Jackson Heights and Corona to die in Iraq. In an emotional ceremony, Rivadeneira’s mother, fellow soldiers, friends and community leaders celebrated his life by formally renaming the corner of 75th Street and 37th Avenue in his honor.
Former U.S. Army Sgt. Jesse Reyes, Rivadeneira’s commanding officer in Iraq, described the soldier as the pinnacle of nobility. Reyes said that in the days before his death, Rivadeneira — a medic — had been due for some time off−duty, but insisted on staying on to assist some new medics who were scheduled to go out on a mission with a crew of soldiers.
“He told me, ‘No,’ and none of my soldiers ever said no to me,” Reyes said. “He said, ‘Well, are you asking me or are you telling me?’”
Reyes agreed to Rivadeneira’s request and the next day his convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device. Reyes said Rivadeneira pulled another soldier out of his wrecked vehicle and saved his life by applying a tourniquet to his leg.
Two days later, Rivadeneira was killed.
“This is Jon’s legacy to me, to the men he served,” Reyes told Rivadeneira’s mother, Martha Clark. “Those things don’t just befall a man. A man chooses on his own to do the right thing.”
Stroking her son’s dog tags hanging from her neck, Clark cried as she thanked the community for her their support.
“I’d like to say to my son that I love you, and I so look forward to the moment when we meet again,” she said.
Altagracia Mayi, whose son was killed in Corona in a 1991 bias attack, said she and other mothers in the community who have lost children to violence or the war in Iraq have provided support for Clark. She said renaming a street in Rivadeneira’s honor will insure that everyone knows he is a hero.
“Everybody who passes this now, they can look up and say, ‘Oh, that’s Jonathan’s corner. He was a beautiful boy. He was a hero,’” she said.
City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D−Corona) burst into tears as she recalled helping Clark pick out Rivadeneira’s burial plot the day after he died and said the outpouring of support is a testament to the community’s strength.
“It really says that in trying times, we stick together,” Ferreras said. “We all feel that loss.”
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at sstirling@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.
