New York street named after Marine ~ Rest in Peace Marine
New York street named after Marine Submitted by: New York Public Affairs Story Identification Number:2004227155430 Story by Gunnery Sgt. John S. Jamison Jr. and Cpl. Beth Zimmerman
NEW YORK(February 27, 2004) -- In a solemn, yet celebrative ceremony on the upper west side of Manhattan, the community of Washington Heights dedicated a street in the name of a Marine who was not yet a citizen of the United States when he was shot and killed during a firefight northeast of Baghdad April 11, 2003.
Marine Staff Sgt. Riayan A. Tejeda, 26, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which deployed from Camp Pendleton, Calif. Tejeda, an eight-year veteran of the Corps, immigrated from the Dominican Republic as a child and grew up on 180th Street in the New York neighborhood.
Community members of all ages and nationalities gathered at the intersection of 180th St. and St. Nicholas Avenue, also known as Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard, to remember a man they called, "an American hero."
"We're here today as a united community," said City Councilman Miguel Martinez. "We want to honor his memory...so that he will continue to be an example to young men and women in New York," Martinez said. "...So we all remember that no matter where you were born, there's an opportunity to serve this country."
U. S. Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) spoke on a bill that was introduced in July named after Tejeda. The bill proposes that anyone put in harm's way for this country would be granted citizenship.
Tejeda's Commanding Officer in Iraq, Major Michael Miller, painted a picture of Tejeda's service during Operation Iraqi Freedom. "April 11th is a day that will always stay in my memory," said Miller. He described for the Washington Heights' neighborhood the scene in the abandoned building in Iraq that Tejeda and his platoon stayed in.
"I walked in and found him making tea for his Marines," said Miller. "It's remarkable how much care he had for his Marines...and for his family and this neighborhood."
Miller also described the firefight the Marines encountered that same night. "A sergeant at the front of the ranks was shot," said Miller. "Despite the oncoming fire, (Tejeda) charged to his aid, and just as he reached the front he was struck."
Miller said that two Corpsman and two Marines tried to save Tejeda's life. "No one wanted to let their hero fall...he was a father figure to those Marines."
The southwest corner of 180th Street is now known as, "Staff Sergeant Riayan Agusto Tejeda Street." It is intersected by Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard, which is named after the founder of the Dominican Republic. That one corner now simultaneously honors a Dominican and American Hero. For those who knew him, it's also a way Tejeda's still with them.
His commanding officer said what most of his friends and family were thinking. "That's (Tejeda's) smile shining down on us."
Marine Corps
03-01-2004, 04:35
New York street named after Marine ~ Rest in Peace Marine 
