The bloodiest month for Fort Lewis since the Iraq war began grew even more grim late Friday, as news of the post’s 20th casualty in May was released by the Pentagon.

Spc. Chadrick O. Domino, 23, of Ennis, Texas, died Thursday, the last day of the month, in Baghdad from wounds inflicted by enemy small arms fire while on foot patrol, the Defense Department announced.

Domino was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – one of two Stryker brigades from Fort Lewis fighting in Iraq.

Third Brigade has been in the war zone for about a year and is scheduled to return home in October. The other, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division arrived in Iraq in April.

Domino was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment – one of the Stryker infantry battalions trying to secure the capital. No other information about the soldier was available late Friday.

May was the deadliest month for Washington’s service members since the Iraq war began in March 2003, with 23 deaths reported as of Friday. All but three of those killed were based at Fort Lewis.

The state’s death toll nearly doubled the previous worst month of December 2004, when 12 were killed.

Nationwide, 122 U.S. soldiers died in May, the third-worst month since the war began.

Last month, President Bush warned that U.S. troops likely would be killed and wounded in greater numbers in the coming months as the “surge” of U.S. forces he ordered to Iraq this year continues.

Fort Lewis leaders have acknowledged that bitter reality with their tentative plans to consolidate soldier memorial ceremonies into one per month.

That plan now is under review.

Fort Lewis is the third-largest Army post in the country and has about 10,000 soldiers in Iraq, including the 3rd and 4th brigades with about 4,000 soldiers each, as well as smaller units.