Posted on 04/01/2025 10:00:17 AM PDT by McGruff
The fourth and final missing U.S. soldier whose armored vehicle sank in a swamp in Lithuania last week was found deceased Tuesday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the incident is "another stark reminder of the selfless sacrifice of our brave military men and women who risk their lives around the world every day to keep us safe."
U.S. Army Europe and Africa said earlier today that "Police working dogs from the Lithuanian Armed Forces began work yesterday afternoon and NATO ally Estonia joined the recovery efforts early this morning."
"Two Estonian recovery dogs, Tilt and Maik, and their handlers flew from Tallinn, Estonia. They arrived on scene at 2:00 a.m. and began searching at 7:00 a.m. this morning. Handlers have positioned the dogs in a U.S. Navy Rigid Inflatable Boat to locate any trace scents below the surface," it added.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
But the vehicle was recovered before the bodies, so they must have wrangled their way out. And all that gear being soaked would be another obstacle. Just a nightmare to haunt their families forever.
This story was written by “Greg Norman.” Really? Wow.
And exiting that sinking vehicle at night is hideously dangerous also. The tracks are spinning along like a meatgrinder, the vehicle is rolling over. Might be your only chance, but it’s not a good chance you escape.
I’m wondering if this 4th man managed to escape the vehicle somehow... but drowned or got crushed under it once he was out.
Just tragic and a waste of lives for the swamp.
Hopefully the Army will at least learn the lesson about operating in eastern front swamps so other do not suffer the same fate in the future.
Being in the military is in and of itself inherently dangerous. They have to train in the same environments in which they may have to fight. It is a testament to the professionalism of our armed forces that these tragedies don’t happen more often.
RIP to these four Americans...
Armored vehicles that are buttoned up, and airtight float when in water.
I’ve been in them traveling from ship to shore, and back again.
Something awful happened here, like a rollover.
Were they by themselves ? No locals ?
Fly to a foreign land, get in your recovery vehicle and drive around the forest ? We’re they looking for tanks to recover ?
If local troops weren’t acting as guides ,why were they off on their own?
This sounds like a disaster in the making.
It is amazing that the dogs can work through water and don’t mind being in the boat, too. Finding living people after an earthquake is also amazing. We are blessed by our canine friends.
One report indicated the vehicle was buried in two meters of mud, under four meters of water. Soldiers hardly stood a chance. Pray for their souls and their families.
Armored vehicle sank in a swamp.
Sounds like a hey watch this moment?.
R,I.P.
“They shouldn’t have even been over there. Four good American kids wasted in support of the neocon proxy war with Russia project.”
Amen.
Criminals put them there.
As an aside, with all the battles on the Eastern Front they are still pulling WW2 era tanks out of the bigs, swamps lakes and rivers.
But unlike these unfortunate soldiers, their crews seemed to ditch their war machines intentionally so their enemies couldn’t use them.
One particularly interesting tank was a Russian T-34 pulled from a lake in relatively good condition and once the valves were cleaned, it is rumoured to have started right up!
The pic doesn’t suggest it was in muck (which is what I read in early reports, too).
That’s a body of water, and apparently at least a couple of the soldiers’ bodies floated out of the vehicle. My guess is that they were on a night training mission and either didn’t have a map or failed to use it.
Awaiting the investigation.
“Armored vehicles that are buttoned up, and airtight float when in water.”
No... most do not. A very few can swim like USMC Amtracs, or a Bradley with a floatation curtain, and some M113s. But just buttoning up a tank or regular armor doesn’t make it float.
Usually it’s the aluminum hull variants that can, with some purpose built designs.
“ My heart breaks for these families. Army stuff is dangerous.”
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It is indeed… even in training as with these four fatalities. The first fatality from my Infantry Officer Candidate class (back in ‘67-‘68) was of a classmate who died in initial helicopter pilot training at Fort Rucker shortly after graduation at Benning.
Prayers up for these four young soldiers and their families.
May God sendcomfort and strength to their loved ones.
I wonder if armored vehicles operating in a low-threat environment travel buttoned-up. My guess would be ‘no’. But a vehicle might flip & flood so quickly nobody is getting out — or maybe just the soldier nearest that open hatch.
Only if they are specifically designed for that. A 63+ton tank recovery vehicle is not going to have sufficient trapped air volume to float.
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