Three U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were confirmed deceased on Monday after a week-long search and recovery operation in Lithuania. A fourth soldier remains missing.
The soldiers were conducting a recovery mission on March 25 when their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle went missing in a peat bog near Pabradė, Lithuania. The 63-ton vehicle was later discovered submerged in a body of water, launching a complex multinational operation to retrieve it and recover the personnel inside.
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The U.S. Army confirmed that the identities of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of their families.
The recovery operation involved hundreds of U.S. service members, including Navy divers from Commander, Task Force 68, as well as forces from Lithuania and Poland. The Lithuanian Armed Forces provided critical support including helicopters, heavy construction equipment, technical experts, and hundreds of tons of gravel to stabilize the ground and access the bog.
“This was a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division. “Our hearts are heavy with a sorrow that echoes across the whole Marne Division. But the search isn’t finished until everyone is home.”
The vehicle was successfully extracted from the bog early Monday after a series of technical and logistical challenges. Divers braved zero-visibility conditions, thick sediment, and frigid water temperatures to attach steel cables, allowing crews to winch the vehicle out with support from multiple bulldozers.
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The search for the fourth missing soldier continues, with ground-penetrating radar and gridded dive operations underway.
U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania Kara C. McDonald and U.S. Army Europe and Africa Commander Gen. Christopher Donahue visited the recovery site on Monday, praising the joint efforts of NATO allies. NATO assets also contributed to the operation.
A special mass was held Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus of Vilnius, led by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas. Attendees included American and NATO troops, Lithuanian military leaders, and U.S. and European commanders.
Gen. Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, also visited the site and attended the mass, stating, “You take care of our Soldiers as if they were your own. That’s the definition of an alliance.”
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The soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a long-standing U.S. initiative to deter aggression in Eastern Europe following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. They were permanently based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.
“The Raider family is heartbroken over the tragic loss of our Soldiers,” said Col. James Armstrong, Commander of the 1st Armored Brigade. “We are an incredibly tight-knit family, and their absence is keenly felt.”
The cause of the accident is under investigation by the U.S. Army and Lithuanian authorities. Updates will be provided as new information becomes available.
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