FAMILY PHOTO VIA FORT LEWIS
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Michael Avery Pursel
Cpl. Michael Pursel, 19, was the youngest of the six killed when the homemade bomb exploded near their vehicle.
Pursel moved to Lacey in 1998, when his father was reassigned from Germany to Fort Lewis. His mother, Terry Dutcher, is a captain in the Air Force Reserve who lives in Hooper, Utah.
His parents were not immediately available for comment. A woman who identified herself as Pursel's grandmother said joining the military was his dream.
"Michael's wanted to join the Army since he was 2 years old," she said. "As soon as he got out of high school he joined."
Pursel enlisted in April 2006. He'd been in Iraq just over a month when he died.