All for One -- and One For All

"We stand in grief with the families and loved ones of these extraordinary 'Dogface Soldiers' during this unimaginable time."

"But the search isn't finished until everyone is home. Words cannot express our gratitude to those still working around the clock during these extensive search and recovery efforts and  your unwavering commitment not to rest until all are found."

"This past week has been devastating. Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them."

“This loss is simply devastating. We are wrapping our arms around the families and loved ones of our Soldiers [during this difficult time]."

Commander Maj.-Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division  

 

"It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers."

"Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers."

"We are forever grateful."

 Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general, V Corps

Military personnel work at the site of a rescue operation for missing US soldiers at Pabrade training ground, in Lithuania, on March 28.  Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images

 

"Lithuania mourns together with the American nation."

"Please accept my heartfelt condolences, as well as those of the Lithuanian people, to you, the loved ones of those who lost their lives, and all the people of the United States of America. "

"During this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with you."

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda 

Under NATO, to give reassurance to Eastern Europe, member-countries of the military alliance were assigned to establish a Rapid Reaction Force as a deterrent and a defence against Russian designs on its neighbours. With a very real and demonstrated willingness to invade the borders of neighbouring nations, the Russian Federation's ambitions of territorial aggression and expansion gave birth to a renewed move by NATO to offer protection to its members under duress of potential invasion.

 

Among other member-nations the United States established a unit in Lithuania. On March 25, an American armoured vehicle with four U.S. soldiers aboard went astray in a marshy peat bog located at the huge General Silvestras Zukauskas training ground nearby the town of Pabrade. A search was undertaken and the location of the missing vehicle was found, though no vehicle was in sight. The almost-70-ton behemoth had sunk straight down, along with its personnel. 

 

The U.S. Army search for four soldiers who went missing during a scheduled training exercise near Pabradė, Lithuania.  U.S. Army

 

It took six days in a massive effort by American, Polish and Lithuanian armed forces to locate and dig the M88 Hercules vehicle out of the peat bog. The search was widened when three of the missing men of the 1st Armoured Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were found dead, and a fourth body of the missing soldiers evaded the search teams. On a tactical training exercise, the soldiers were reported, along with their vehicle to be missing early on Tuesday. 

The thick forests and swampy terrain around Pabrade, some ten kilometres west of the border with Belarus saw hundreds of Lithuanian and American soldiers and other rescuers searching, engaged in a rescue mission. On Wednesday the armoured vehicle's whereabouts was finally discovered, submerged in 4-1/2 metres of swamp water. 

Military helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial systems and search and rescue personnel were provided by the Lithuanian armed forces. Excavators, sluice and slurry pumps were brought to the site, along with other heavy construction equipment along with technical experts and several hundred tons of gravel and earth, all to help with the recovery mission.

 

American navy divers manoeuvred through thick layers of mud, clay and sediment "with zero visibility" to finally reach the 63-ton vehicle on Sunday evening. There they established several points where steel cables could be attached to enable the work involved in lifting the vehicle. During the effort of dragging the vehicle out of its submerged position, they began to lose traction, requiring more heavy dozers to provide additional grip. Two hours later the vehicle was pulled free of its ghastly grave.

 

Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California, Sgt. Jose Duenez, Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam.  U.S. Army

The navy dive team's work was not over. They then turned to searching the area with the use of radar for the presence of the still-missing fourth soldier. And his body was ultimately found, to join that of his other three comrades, to be returned to the United States and to their families, for burial. 

 

An undated photo of Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan, who died in a training mission in Lithuania.  U.S. Army

"I can’t say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies — and our own Sailors, Airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers — have enabled us to find and bring home our Soldiers."

"This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends."

Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa