A Wayne County soldier killed in Afghanistan will be laid to rest Saturday.

Army Sgt. Eric C. Newman, a 30-year-old soldier from Waynesboro, died in a bombing Oct. 14.

People described him as a brave man with a big heart.

Newman joined the Army in 2006 and soon deployed to Iraq. He went to Afghanistan with the 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Funeral services will be at 11 p.m. Saturday at Freeman Chapel. Burial follows at Hebron United Methodist Church Cemetery in Wayne County.

Officials hope Wayne County residents will line the streets Thursday to pay honor and tribute to Newman when his body returns to Mississippi.