4 U.S. Army soldiers disappear during training exercise in Lithuania near border with Belarus

[jafo2010]

mountaineer...

Why are our soldiers there?

US military units were inserted into the NATO allied nations after Russia attacked Ukraine.  That includes all the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.  For obvious reasons, it was assumed that Putin would be coming for them next, that they would be easy targets, so the US was positioning forces to protect these nations who are now part of NATO.

These nations have porous borders with Russians making occasional incursions into them as they desire.

Our troops' deaths could be an accident, or it could have been due to a skirmish.   If the latter, you will never hear the truth of it!

[MeganC]

US military units were inserted into the NATO allied nations after Russia attacked Ukraine.  That includes all the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.  For obvious reasons, it was assumed that Putin would be coming for them next, that they would be easy targets, so the US was positioning forces to protect these nations who are now part of NATO.

These nations have porous borders with Russians making occasional incursions into them as they desire.

Our troops' deaths could be an accident, or it could have been due to a skirmish.  If the latter, you will never hear the truth of it!

This.

[mountaineer]

Thanks for the explanation, jafo.

[mystery-ak]

Army identifies 3 American soldiers who died in Lithuanian swamp: 'Simply devastating'
All 3 of the US soldiers were 25 years old or younger
By Andrea Margolis , Liz Friden Fox News
Published April 1, 2025 4:40pm EDT | Updated April 1, 2025 5:10pm EDT



Officials have released the identities of three of the four U.S. soldiers found dead in Lithuania.

The soldiers, who were discovered in an M88 armored vehicle that sank into a swamp, were all 25 or younger. 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, were all identified by officials on Tuesday.

A fourth soldier was found on Tuesday, but his identity has not yet been released.

All three men were M1 Abrams tank system maintainers. Their vehicle was discovered in a peat bog near Pabradė, Lithuania, after disappearing on March 25.

The soldiers went missing "while conducting a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle," according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

Duenez served in the Army for over seven years and was assigned to 5th Sqn., 7th Cav. Regt at Fort Stewart, previously serving with the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. A graduate of the Army Basic Leader Course and the Tracked Vehicle Recovery Operations Course, he deployed to Germany in 2022 and Poland in 2021.

Franco served in the Army for over six years and was assigned to the 5th Sqn., 7th Cav. Regt. at Fort Stewart in February 2019. He also graduated from the Army Basic Leader Course and the Tracked Vehicle Recovery Operations Course and deployed to Korea in 2020, and Germany in 2022.

Taitano, the youngest of the three, had served in the Army for nearly two years and was assigned to 5th Sqn., 7th Cav. Regt. at Fort Stewart. It was his first deployment.

more
https://www.foxnews.com/us/army-identifies-3-american-soldiers-died-lithuanian-swamp-simply-devastating