Tragedy in Lithuania: Three US soldiers confirmed dead
The American army has revealed the names and published the photos of three soldiers who died in Lithuania. It turns out that the youngest of them was just 21 years old.
In Lithuania, the bodies of four American soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, missing since March 25, were found. They disappeared in the early morning hours during a technical operation aimed at retrieving another vehicle in the region where exercises were conducted.
Three of these soldiers were found on March 31, while the fourth was found a day later, on April 1. The American army stated they would release the information to the public only after the families of the deceased had been notified.
During the night, the 1st Armored Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, revealed on their Facebook profile the details of three soldiers whose bodies were found in Lithuania. They are 25-year-old Sergeant Jose Duenez from Illinois, 25-year-old Sgt. Edvin F. Franco from California, and 21-year-old Specialist Dante D. Taitano from Guam.
The identity of the fourth soldier has not yet been revealed.
The dramatic search operation lasted seven days
The four soldiers went missing on March 25 during tactical exercises as the crew of the M88 Hercules recovery vehicle.
The vehicle was found submerged in a muddy water reservoir on the training ground in Pabradė, near the Belarusian border. The operation to pull the vehicle out of the bog ended early on Monday morning. The vehicle was located about 13 feet below the water's surface and under about 7 feet of mud.
The circumstances of the incident and the cause of the soldiers' deaths are under investigation.
