The U.S. military says it has recovered the body of the final missing Fort Stewart soldier after an armored vehicle was recovered from a swampy training area in Lithuania, ending a week-long search, AP reports.
The remains of the three other soldiers were recovered Monday after U.S., Polish and Lithuanian armed forces and authorities dug the M88 Hercules vehicle from the peat bog at the sprawling Gen. Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė.
The Army identified the three soldiers recovered Monday as Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois; Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam, The fourth soldier’s name has not been released, pending family notifications.
“This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division commander, said in a statement Tuesday. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”
The Army said a week ago the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division soldiers were conducting a tactical training exercise before they and their vehicle went missing.
Hundreds of Lithuanian and U.S. soldiers and rescuers searched the thick forests and swampy terrain around Pabradė, just 6 miles west of the border with Belarus. The 63-ton armored vehicle was found March 26, submerged in 15 feet of water, but it took days to recover.
Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, thanked U.S. allies for providing troops and equipment to the search and recovery operation. He said, “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.”
Sgt. Duenez, an M1 Abrams tank system maintainer with over seven years in the Army, deployed to Poland and Germany. He served in the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. Sgt. Franco, also an M1 Abrams tank system maintainer, served for more than six years and deployed to Korea and Germany. Pfc. Taitano, an M1 Abrams tank system maintainer with nearly two years in the Army, was on his first deployment.
About 3,500 brigade soldiers are deployed across Poland and the Baltic states for a nine-month rotation as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, supporting NATO allies and partners since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“This loss is simply devastating,” said Norrie. “We are wrapping our arms around the families and loved ones of our Soldiers” during this difficult time.
