Services for slain Marine open to public

A funeral with military honors for a 20-year-old from Tacoma who was among four Marines killed in Afghanistan last weekend is planned for June 27.

Sgt. Michael Toussiant-Hyle Washington, son of Seattle firefighter and former Marine Michael Washington, will be buried at Tahoma National Cemetery near Kent.

The public is invited to pay respects at the services, which are to begin at 10 a.m. Graveside services are slated to begin at around 1:15 p.m. at the cemetery at 18600 S.E. 240th St., Kent, followed by a reception in Federal Way at Northwest Church, 34800 21st Ave. S.W., his family said.

Condolences may be also sent to: The Washington Family, P.O. Box 24552, Federal Way, WA 98093.

Remembrances in Sgt. Michael T. Washington's name may be sent to the nonprofit "Seattle's Bravest Charity" at Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local 27, 517 2nd Ave W., Seattle, WA 98119. See also http://www.seattlesbravest.com/

Washington, a graduate of Stadium High School in Tacoma, died with three other Marines Saturday when their Humvee was blown up by a roadside bomb, the worst single attack on U.S. or coalition forces in Afghanistan this year.

All four Marines served with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. The unit arrived in Afghanistan in April.

The Defense Department Tuesday said that in addition to Washington, the other Marines killed in the attack were Lance Cpl. Layton Bradly Crass, 22, of Richmond, Ind.; Pfc. Michael Robert Patton, 19, of Fenton, Mo. -- a newlywed -- and Pfc. Dawid Pietrek, 24, of Bensenville, Ill.

The Marines died a day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted that the number of coalition soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month exceeded the death toll for the same time frame in Iraq. The four were killed during an eruption of violence in southern Afghanistan.

Washington, a third generation Marine, served last year in Iraq, where he received commendations for bravery and leadership under fire. His father had served in Desert Storm and twice in Afghanistan before retiring after 23 years in the Marine Corps in 2004.

In addition to his father, Washington is survived by his mother, Grace, and sister Aja Collins, who is married to a U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea.