MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (AP) -- Hundreds of people attended a memorial service Saturday for a St. Paul soldier killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas.

The service was the first of three days of traditional remembrances for 23-year-old Pfc. Kham Xiong. He was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and was one of 13 people killed in the Nov. 5 attack.

The service will continue through Monday afternoon. A long list of public officials showed up, including Hmong General Vang Pao and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Xiong will be buried with military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

At the funeral, it was announced that Xiong will be granted honorary posthumous U.S. citizenship. He came to the U.S. as a young child.

Xiong leaves behind a wife and three small children.