The wife of one of the four US servicemen who died at the Pabradė training area in Lithuania last March says she felt unity and support during the rescue operation and is grateful to Lithuania for its efforts to bring the officers home.
“With everything that happened, it was very out of nowhere and, at one point, I felt like I didn’t have much hope, but I kept my faith and then seeing on the news and seeing all the Lithuanian government, the people just showing out to support, like trying whatever that they can help by prayers, by offering help with machinery,” said Karen Diaz, the wife of late Staff Sergeant Jose Duenez Jr.
“It just showed like we were all united in a way and it made me feel like I had people holding my back, like making sure that I was standing still. It was really nice, very beautiful,” she added. “Being able to come here, it was very beautiful. I’ve met people on the streets and they are giving me condolences and they say they’re here for me and for everybody else. So, it’s very nice, very beautiful. I’m really grateful to the Lithuanian community, their government, everyone because they’ve shown so much support to us.”
On Sunday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda posthumously awarded the fallen US soldiers medals of the Order of the Cross of Vytis for their merits in strengthening the national defence system, exceptional devotion to duty and self-sacrifice in the performance of their duties during the NATO-allied exercises.
The president posthumously awarded the US Army Staff Sergeant Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, from Michigan, Staff Sergeant Jose Duenez, 25, from Illinois, Staff Sergeant Edvin F. Franco, 25, from California, and Sergeant Dante D. Taitano, 21, from Guam.
Major General Curtis Taylor, commander of the 1st Armored Division, told reporters that he was “unbelievably grateful for the gratitude and the support that we’ve received from the Lithuanian people throughout this terrible tragedy that happened to our soldiers just three months ago”.
“It’s been incredibly meaningful for them to see the site. We took the families out to the site where the tragedy took place to see and appreciate the work that was done on their behalf to recover their fallen soldiers,” he said.
The four US soldiers went missing with their M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle during a training exercise at the Pabradė training area on March 25. The search and rescue operation lasted a week and involved Lithuanian, US, Polish, Estonian troops, officials and civilians.
The vehicle with the bodies of the three soldiers was recovered from a swamp on March 31, and the body of the fourth soldier was found the next day.
People in Lithuania donated over 200,000 euros to the families of the fallen soldiers during a fundraising campaign organised by Laisvės TV.
The cause of the soldiers’ deaths is being investigated by the American side, and the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office has closed the related pre-trial investigation.
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