By Jeremy Walsh
A Jackson Heights soldier killed last year in Iraq will be remembered by more than just his family after the City Council approved a street renaming in his honor last week.
The southeast corner of 75th Street and 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights will be called Corporal Jonathan Rivadeneira Corner after the slain medic whose comrades said he never hesitated to provide aid to his squad mates, Councilwoman Helen Sears (D−Jackson Heights) said.
Rivadeneira, 22, served with the Army’s 9th U.S. Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Hood, Texas. He died Sept. 14, 2007, when a roadside bomb exploded next to the vehicle in which he was riding 60 miles north of Baghdad. The blast also killed three other soldiers.
“This naming is a fitting tribute to a brave soldier and son of Queens,” Sears said in a statement. “Nothing can ever bring Cpl. Rivadeneira back to us, but this naming will help make sure that he is never, ever forgotten.”
Rivadeneira, who left behind a 21−year−old widow, was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his service. He was the fifth soldier from the Jackson Heights−Corona−Elmhurst area to be killed in Iraq.
He enlisted in the Army at age 18 and was trained as a medic and aspired to continue his medical training after his service was over, his family said.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e−mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 154.
