SUNY Purchase College President Thomas Schwarz euologizing Anthony Kalladeen's contributions to the College and our country

By CANDICE FERRETTE
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: May 3, 2006)

PURCHASE - Rachel Glickenstein never met Spc. Anthony Kalladeen, yet by the time she graduates from Purchase College she expects to learn more about him.

"Before I even came here, over the summer, I got a letter about him," said Glickenstein. "Yesterday, we all got e-mails about this. ... I guess it really makes you think more closely about the war."

Glickenstein, an 18-year-old freshman, was among the dozens of students, alumni, faculty and administrators who witnessed the dedication of a dormitory lounge yesterday in memory of Kalladeen, a popular student and resident assistant killed in August by a roadside bomb in Iraq while serving a second tour of duty with the Army National Guard.

The ceremony proved that Kalladeen continues to inspire and intrigue many on the campus known more for its arts programs and liberal student body than its military hopefuls.

"He stood out here because he wasn't an arts student. He really was a mainstream student," said Purchase College President Thomas Schwarz, who urged all in attendance to reflect on the "real-world" contributions of soldiers and students.

But it is perhaps Kalladeen's life story, which many of his closest friends at Purchase learned only after his death, that will inspire new students using the lounge, called Kalladeen's Corner, in the Crossroads dormitory.

Kalladeen, who was 26 when he died, was born in Brooklyn and was sent to the Andrus Children's Center when he was 9 years old after his mother gave him and his older brother up for adoption. His brother, now named Chad Pillai, was adopted by a family from upstate New York, but Kalladeen remained at the center.

He was raised by the staff at Andrus, where a tree was planted in his memory in September.

He graduated from White Plains High School and immediately enlisted in the Marine Corps. After four years of service, Kalladeen began his college career at Purchase, where he studied history and majored in liberal studies.

Kalladeen, of Puerto Rican descent, was active in the campus Latino organization. He enjoyed dancing and going to parties.

But as a resident assistant, he was a stickler for the rules, and earned the nickname "Marine RA." He was an RA for three semesters, all along volunteering with the National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment - often referred to as "the Fighting 69th" - which lost several soldiers in combat last year.

"He never made it home or even to his own graduation," said Riquelmi Gomez, 22, one of Kalladeen's friends and a speaker at yesterday's event. Gomez said she finds much fault in the U.S. military but began to understand yesterday how important Kalladeen's military service was to him.

Sgt. 1st Class John Remert, who was assigned to help Kalladeen's grieving family and friends, told the audience that Kalladeen embodied all of the Army's values and urged them to think of the importance of his service.

"No matter what anyone thinks about this war, you have to understand that soldiers are people, too, and when we are called to duty, we have to go," Remert said.

Web Masters Note: Anthony Kalladeen is a Westchester County Detachment Life Member KIA Iraq 8 August 2005 and a former Young Marine of White Plains (6 years).

The Westchester County Detachment has created a scholarship fund in Anthony Kalladeen's Name. Please see our news article, Scholarship Fund Established for details.