Funeral procession for fallen Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss passes through Southwest Virginia

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - One of the 13 military members killed in Afghanistan passed through southwest Virginia in a funeral procession Thursday; being carried was 23-year-old U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss.

The procession is headed to Arlington National Cemetery, where the soldier will be laid to rest.

Knauss was killed in a suicide bombing alongside 12 other service members outside Kabul’s airport as they worked to evacuate people out of Afghanistan August 26. About 169 Afghans were also killed.

Christiansburg emergency responders and other community members put up U.S. flags during the procession to show respect. Many flags were hung throughout interstate 81 as a helicopter and police motorcade escorted the hearse.

The mayor of Christiansburg is a retired Army veteran and says the town will always continue to remember our fallen heroes.

“I mean, to show up on the bridge with the ladder truck and the flag and, you know, to honor him that way. That’s, that’s important, but that’s what we are,” said Mike Barber, the mayor of Christiansburg.

All 13 troops were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

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