Lake Stevens paintball melee recreates D-Day battle

Mark Mulligan / The Herald

Players flood the field under a cloud of orange smoke from a smoke bomb during an event re-enacting D-Day at ForestFire Paintball in Lake Stevens on Saturday. Hundreds of players attended the annual event, which began with a ceremony honoring former ForestFire staff member Dustin Canham, a U.S. Marine from Lake Stevens who died last year while serving in Africa. A newly built castle structure on the field was officially named "Canham Castle" after hundreds of players observed a moment of silence in memory of Canham and three other paintball players who recently died.

Marine Lance Cpl. Dustin Canham in a photo from MySpace.

Mark Mulligan / The Herald

A player sprints across the terrain during a paintball game Saturday morning at ForestFire Paintball in Lake Stevens. Hundreds of players came to the field Saturday for an annual event re-enacting D-Day.

Mark Mulligan / The Herald

A player ducks around a bunker to fire at the opposing team during a paintball game Saturday morning at ForestFire Paintball in Lake Stevens. Hundreds of players came to the field Saturday for an annual event re-enacting D-Day.

Mark Mulligan / The Herald

J.D. Giles of Tulalip smiles as he walks off the field after being hit in the mask at ForestFire Paintball on Saturday morning.