American soldiers found after vehicle recovery operation in Lithuania
The American army has revealed the names of three soldiers who died in Lithuania and published their photos. It turns out that the youngest of them was only 21 years old.
In Lithuania, the bodies of four American soldiers from the 1st Armoured Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, missing since March 25, were found. They disappeared in the early morning hours of March 25 during a technical operation aimed at recovering another vehicle in the area where exercises were being conducted.
Three of these soldiers were found on March 31, and the fourth on April 1. The American army stated that it would only release their information to the public after the families of the deceased had been notified.
Overnight, the 1st Armoured Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division revealed on their Facebook profile the names of the 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 disclosed.
The dramatic search operation lasted seven days
The four soldiers went missing on March 25 during tactical exercises, being the crew of an M88 Hercules recovery vehicle.
The vehicle was found submerged in a muddy water reservoir at a training ground in Pabrade near the Belarus border. The operation to extract the vehicle from the swamp concluded early 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 causes of the soldiers' deaths are being investigated.
