Vilnius (AFP) – Hundreds of Lithuanians on Thursday paid their respects to four US soldiers who died when their vehicle sank in a peat bog at a military training ground in the Baltic state. Three of the soldiers were found dead on Monday when rescuers recovered their M88 Hercules armoured vehicle from a swamp in eastern Lithuania, where it had gone missing last week. The fourth soldier was found a day later.
Lithuania, a NATO and EU member bordering Russia and Belarus, hosts more than 1,000 American troops stationed on a rotational basis. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and other officials watched as a procession with the soldiers’ remains stopped in a central square in the capital Vilnius before the bodies were flown back to the United States. Hundreds of people held US and Lithuanian flags as the procession passed on an arterial avenue and cathedral bells tolled. The bodies will be flown to Dover, the capital of Delaware.
“We ourselves have experienced many different challenges in our own history, so we are well aware of what loss, death, and the honourable performance of duty means,” Nauseda told reporters. “Their willingness to be with us…in this tough neighbourhood is the best proof of who our friends are today,” he added.
Lithuania, a staunch supporter of Kyiv, has ramped up defence spending and training since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, voicing fears that Moscow could target it next. Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on Thursday that “every soldier of our allies is our own.” “They came to Lithuania, our land, to defend our citizens, and their deaths during an exercise are a very painful loss,” she added.
Lithuanian authorities received a report last week that the soldiers had gone missing during a military drill at a training ground in the eastern city of Pabrade, near the border with Belarus. Hundreds of local and foreign troops and others including engineers and divers were then involved in a search and rescue operation. A private fundraising campaign in Lithuania has raised 232,000 euros ($257,000) for the families of the soldiers.
© 2024 AFP
