Story highlights Family holds private funeral Saturday for Army Sgt. La David Johnson Cooper

President Donald Trump's response to Johnson's death has sparked controversy

Cooper City, Florida (CNN) Loved ones bid their farewells Saturday at a private funeral for Army Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four US soldiers killed in Niger, whose death has been at the center of a public dispute this week between President Donald Trump and a congresswoman.

Flags flew at half-staff across Florida as Johnson's remains were transported early Saturday afternoon for burial following the closed-door service at Christ the Rock Community Church in Cooper City.

"Reality just hit me, and it was like, he's really gone, and I'm not going to ever have my brother anymore," Johnson's sister, Terkiya McGriff, told CNN affiliate WSVN on Friday night.

An estimated 1,000 people attended the service, according to Cooper City spokeswoman Michelle Alvarez, with "a few hundred" having to stand.

Local residents waved flags and watched from the roadside as the processional accompanied Johnson's remains from the church to Hollywood Memorial Gardens for burial.