ARLINGTON, Va. (WATE) — East Tennessee native Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, who was killed last month in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan, was laid to rest Tuesday in a private ceremony. Knauss was honored by East Tennessee in a funeral procession that passed through the heart of Knoxville before being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

“He will never be forgotten & and our thoughts will forever stay with his family,” the official Twitter account of the Army’s Airborne division, 1st Special Forces/Psychological Operations command shared after the private ceremony.

Knauss, 23, a graduate of Gibbs High School, was one of 13 U.S. service members killed by a suicide bomber from the Islamic State on Aug. 26 while they had been aiding to help people escape Afghanistan amid the withdrawal of American troops. President Joe Biden met with families of the fallen troops days after the attack.

Knuass’ life and love for his country were celebrated during a public memorial at Gibbs High School a few weeks ago, where he had attended before enlisting in the Army in 2016. Knauss was a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne division and a staff sergeant assigned to the 9th Battalion, 8th Psychological Operations Group. Knauss, along with the 12 other service members killed in the attack, were posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

Knauss was reportedly the last American service member killed in Afghanistan in what has been our nation’s longest war.