This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Hundreds of Lithuanians gathered in Vilnius on April 3 to honor four American soldiers who died during a training exercise in Lithuania, as a procession carrying their coffins passed through the city’s Cathedral Square.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausada, who attended the ceremony, expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers and said the recovery operations, supported by international cooperation, were “the best proof of NATO’s invincibility.”
“Their readiness to be with us, as they say, in a difficult neighborhood, is the best proof of who our friends are today,” Nauseda told reporters.
Defense Minister Davile Sakaliene and the archbishop of Vilnius were among those present at the ceremony.
Sakaliene emphasized that the joint rescue efforts by soldiers from Lithuania, the United States, Germany, Poland, and Estonia demonstrated “unity” in times of crisis.
“We consider US soldiers in Lithuania as our own. The farewell ceremony once again demonstrated our society’s solidarity, respect, and gratitude to the Americans,” the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said in a post on Facebook.
The last US soldier missing in Lithuania was found dead on April 1, ending a massive weeklong search for the four service members whose armored vehicle was pulled from a swampy training area, the US military said.
The bodies of the first three soldiers from the US Army’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle had been retrieved on March 31.
The soldiers were on a tactical training exercise when they went missing.
US Major General Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, earlier expressed thanks to everyone who contributed to the recovery operation.
“We cannot thank our allies and fellow service members enough, especially Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission,” he said.
Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 US troops stationed in the Baltic nation on a rotational basis.
© American Military News