Fallen Marine to be Honored Tuesday

The coffin of a 23-year-old Californian marine killed this month in Afghanistan is scheduled to fly into Los Alamitos on Tuesday.

The community is invited to pay their respects in a Hero Mission for Cpl. Christopher G. Singer, 23, of Temecula and Lake Forest, at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos. A Hero Mission is a brief and solemn ceremony in which the soldier's coffin is transferred from the plane to his waiting family.

Cpl. Christopher Singer died Jan. 21 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

The Singer family requests to have public and media present. Attendees are asked to arrive at 10:30 a.m. to allow time for parking and walking to the airfield. Following the ceremony, the procession will head down Katella Avenue to the San Gabriel (605) Freeway. Community members are encouraged to line the street to pay tribute to the Singer family's sacrifice, said Laura Herzog, founder of the nonprofit Honoring Our Fallen, which assists families whose loved one was killed in the line of duty.

Singer's father lives in Lake Forest and his memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Friday at Saddleback Church, located at, 1 Saddleback Parkway, Lake Forest. The community is also invited to the memorial service.