Thousands of Lithuanians, including political or religious officials, honored the memory of four American soldiers who died during the last week’s exercise in Lithuaniawrites TASR, according to AFP and AP reports.
Poor soldiers were accompanied by a number of people holding American or Lithuanian flags, including schoolchildren and their teachers, before leaving for their homeland. The parade with coffins passed through the Cathedral Square in Vilnius. The church bells were also sounded.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauséda, Minister of Defense, lent jackalia and other representatives, attended the reverent event. The coffins with the remains of the soldiers were taken to the airport to be transported by air to the United States, namely Dover, Delaware.
“We have experienced many difficult times in our history, so we are well aware of what the loss, death and honest performance of service means,” Nauséd told reporters. “Their willingness to be with us … In this demanding neighborhood, the best proof of who our friends are today,” he added. Minister Skakalie said that “every soldier of our allies is our own soldier”.
Four American soldiers were missing from the afternoon of March 25. They participated in tactical exercises in the military training area Pabradé about 15-20 kilometers from the border with Belarus.
The Lithuanian army and the police together with the US Army subsequently launched an extensive search action from foreign participation, which also involved, for example, women and divers. In the marsh area, they managed to find their armored M88 Hercules rescue vehicle weighing nearly 70 tons. It stuck about five meters deep in the mud, which complicated his pulling. The bodies of three soldiers were found on Monday after pulling the vehicle out of the swamp. On Tuesday, the body of the fourth soldier was also found.
AFP explains that in a private collection, the families of the deceased American soldiers managed to raise 232,000 euros. In Lithuania, which is a member of NATO and the EU, bordering on Russia and Belarus, more than 1,000 US soldiers are on the rotary principle.
