Three Akron area Marines are killed in attack blast

The explosion was Thursday north of Baghdad.
HAQLANIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Three Ohio Marines from an Akron-based unit were among five servicemen killed in the same attack in western Iraq this week, the Department of Defense said Friday.
Lance Cpl. Thomas O. Keeling, 23, of Strongsville; Lance Cpl. Devon P. Seymour, 21, of St. Louisville; and Cpl. Brad D. Squires, 26, of Middleburg Heights died in an explosion Thursday during fighting in Haqlaniyah, 90 miles north of Baghdad.
They were assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.
A Marine from Idaho and another from Washington state also died in the attack, the military said.
Seymour, 21, was killed a year after his father, an Ohio National Guardsman, returned from duty in Afghanistan, his family said Friday.
He died when his vehicle was hit by an explosive device, said his father, James Seymour.
Devoted to service
The younger Seymour was deployed to Iraq in February. He graduated in 2002 from Utica High School in Licking County, east of Columbus.
James Seymour said his son decided to join the Marine Reserves during his senior year after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The 17-year-old was told he had to wait until his birthday in November before he could sign up, his father said.
His father returned home last spring after serving seven months in Afghanistan. "I got back in May and his unit was activated in November of that same year," James Seymour said.
Devon Seymour was responsible and determined, even when he was a child, his father said.
"He wanted a dog, so what he did was, he cut pictures out of magazines," his father said. "Every time you opened a door, there would be a dog."
The family adopted a poodle-terrier mix, and later a German shepherd.
"He was a good kid. He was very proud to be Marine," Seymour said. "And I should say, we were very proud."