The bodies of three US soldiers who went missing in Lithuania during training exercises last week, with one remaining missing, military officials said Monday.
Soldiers missed the morning of March 25th after the M88A2 Hercules’ armored recovery vehicle was immersed in a peat marsh during a mission to repair and tow a tactical vehicle that was fixed.
The identities of all soldiers in the 1st Brigade Combat Team, the 3rd Infantry Division, are pending due to family notices being held up, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Public Relations Agency said.
A search and recovery operation for the remaining fourth soldier is in progress.
The soldiers were deployed to Lithuania to support the Atlantic resolution operation and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, military officials said. The Lithuanian military and law enforcement worked with them during training exercises last week.
Their 63-ton armored vehicle removed the shape of the peat marsh early Monday morning after six days of effort.
Earlier this week, the US military said hundreds of soldiers and law enforcement, Americans and Lithuanians, had washed away thick forest and swamp terrain to find missing soldiers.
Recovery efforts required specialized equipment to stabilize the soft ground in the area. This effort included Lithuanian military helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, excavators, floodgates and slurry pumps, hundreds of tons of gravel and the Earth.
“Soldiers weren’t the only soldiers we lost in this tragedy. They were part of our family. Our hearts are heavy with the sadness echoing throughout the Marn Division, both before and at home,” said Major General Christopher Norley, div. The commander said in a statement.
“We stand in grief with the families and loved ones of these extraordinary ‘dog-face soldiers’ families. But the search is not over until everyone is home,” the statement said.
The US Army and Lithuanian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
Lithuania is a former Soviet republic and has been a member of NATO since 2004, and has since 2014 hosted hundreds of US troops as part of the “Atlantic Resolution” operation that began after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine.
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