Lithuanians pay their respects to 4 US soldiers who lost their lives during a training exercise

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Thousands of people in Lithuania, including political and religious leaders, gathered to say goodbye to four American soldiers who tragically died during a training exercise in the Baltic nation.

President Gitanas Nausda and various dignitaries paid their respects as the hearses carried the bodies of the young Americans to Vilnius airport, where they would then be transported to the United States for burial.

Emotional scenes unfolded as many onlookers were moved to tears. President Nausda remarked on the deep emotional chord struck by the soldiers’ disappearance, which resonated with Lithuania’s own turbulent history.

“For us, it is more than a duty, it is an emotion. We have experienced trials in our history and therefore we understand well what loss is, what death is, what honourable duty is,” Nausda said in a speech to those gathered.

Schoolchildren accompanied by teachers waved Lithuanian and U.S. flags to honor the soldiers, who died in an accident along NATO’s eastern flank, a region that is on edge due to Russia’s aggression in nearby Ukraine.

Leading one group was Justin Boyd, the secondary school principal of the American International School in Vilnius, who said his group was there “to honor the fallen soldiers from the United States and to honor the relationship between Lithuania and America and the defensive pact that represents.”

“It’s important for us to give dignity to the fallen and to let the families know that we are with them and we support them in this time,” Boyd said.

The soldiers, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were on a tactical training exercise when they and their vehicle went missing a week ago, the Army said.

Lithuanian, Polish and U.S. soldiers and rescuers searched through the forests and swamps at the Gen. Silvestras ukauskas training ground in the town of Pabrad, 6 miles (10 kilometers) west of the border with Belarus. The M88 Hercules armored vehicle was pulled from a peat bog Monday and the final body was recovered Tuesday.

“I feel sorry for these young men,” said one mourner from the town of Pabrad as he watched the hearses make their way towards the airport. “I live nearby, and I know that swamp. Dangerous places for anyone who enters that area.”

The U.S. Army has identified the soldiers as Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan; Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois; Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam.

About 3,500 soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team deployed in January to Poland and the Baltic states for a nine-month rotation as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which supports NATO allies and partners following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.