On Tuesday, July 3, Governor Cuomo signed into law legislation renaming a section of Route 120 in honor of a former Purchase College student who died in Iraq in 2005.
The section of Route 120/Purchase Street from Lake Street to Anderson Hill Road is now the “Specialist Anthony N. Kalladeen Memorial Highway.”
Kalladeen, a former Marine, was in the last month of his second tour of duty with the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment out of New York City. On August 7, 2005, his Humvee was ambushed when two improvised explosive devices were detonated; he was pronounced dead the next day. He was 26.
A resident assistant for three semesters in freshman residence halls, Kalladeen was a superb mentor and enjoyed great popularity with his peers and first-year students alike.
He had planned on returning to Purchase College to continue his studies.
In 2006, faculty, staff, and students dedicated a space in the Crossroads residence hall as The Kalladeen Corner, intended as a place for reflection. A second dedication occurred following a renovation of the area in 2011. A plaque honoring the soldier hangs across from a mural painted by Katie Grosskopf, a friend of Kalladeen’s, who graduated in 2006.
“There is no way to adequately thank and honor Specialist Anthony N. Kalladeen and Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay for their tremendous courage and sacrifice protecting our nation,” said Suzi Oppenheimer, the sponsor of the bill. “What we can do is offer this tribute for their service to our country and ensure that their memory is kept alive for generations.”
(The law also renames a section of Route 120 in Chappaqua after Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay.)
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