(Knoxville, TN)- Flags are flying on homes, near mailboxes and on buildings in East Tennessee as a tribute to Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss.
The 23 year old died Thursday after an attack outside the Kabul, Afghanistan airport, his commanders said. He was the only Army soldier to die in the attack that killed twelve other American service-members.
Alena, his wife told Ten News, she and Ryan were high school sweethearts, even though he graduated from Gibbs and she attended a rival school. The pair met when they worked together at a Fountain City pizza parlor when she was 15 years old.
“I can’t say it enough, God, he was handsome,” she said with a laugh. “I probably did not do that company justice. I was very distracted by the handsome man beside me doing his job properly and being annoyed with me for not doing mine.”
Eventually, she said, her mom helped convince her to say yes to a date. The couple would have celebrated their 5-year wedding anniversary on October 7.
“We just clicked,” she said. “Our souls were very intertwined.”
She said his confidence practically knew no bounds, and he was always there for her when she needed him.
“He was charismatic, people gravitated toward him,” she said.
