Fourth missing U.S. soldier found dead in Lithuania
The body of the fourth U.S. Army soldier who went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania last week was found Tuesday afternoon, military officials announced.
The soldier, whose name was not released pending family notification, was the last to be found after the bodies of three other soldiers were found Monday.
The four soldiers, from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, had gone missing during a training exercise on March 25, when their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle submerged in a peat bog. The 63-ton armored vehicle was also removed from the peat bog early Monday.
The U.S. Army and Lithuanian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
The soldier was found near Pabradė, after a strenuous weeklong search that involved hundreds of rescue workers from American, Lithuanian, Polish and Estonian forces. The search required scouring thick forest and swampy terrain, and specialized equipment to stabilize the soft ground in the area.
The soldiers had been deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve “to provide credible ground deterrence alongside Allies and partners,” the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Public Affairs Office said. Operation Atlantic Resolve provides rotational deployments “of combat-credible forces” to Europe in a commitment to NATO (a political and military alliance of countries from Europe and North America), according to the military.
The four were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
“This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final ‘Dogface Soldier,’” Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division commanding general, said. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”
