Tuesday at the United States of America (JAV) Embassy in Vilnius will observe a minute of silence to honor the Americans who died at the Pabradė training ground soldiers.
"Let us honor their memory with flowers, candles, and gratitude, which will forever live in our hearts," the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union announced on Facebook.
"They came here to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. To protect our families, our homes, and our freedom. And this sacrifice is the greatest that a person can make," the rifle community writes.
Three American soldiers were found dead after a sunken armored vehicle was pulled from a swamp at the Pabradė training ground, the U.S. European and African Command announced on Monday evening. The search for the fourth missing soldier is continuing, according to U.S. military officials.
ELTA reminds that last Tuesday, a report was received about US soldiers and a tracked vehicle missing during an exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė. A search and rescue operation was launched shortly after. It is led by the military, with additional resources from the Fire Protection and Rescue Department (FPD) and other institutions. Helicopters of the Air Force and the State Border Guard Service (SBS) have been activated.
On Wednesday afternoon, the US military confirmed that an M88 Hercules tracked vehicle submerged in a swamp had been found.
The US Embassy says the missing soldiers are from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
A sunken US military armored vehicle was pulled from a swamp in Pabradė on Monday night. Although the military has not yet commented on whether the soldiers' bodies have been found, the prosecutor's office announced that it has launched a pre-trial investigation to determine the cause of death.
Karolina Konopackienė (ELTA)
