A soldier from Los Angeles County is among the four killed by a training exercise in Lithuania last month.
The four soldiers were reported missing last week when their armored vehicle sank in a bog, the New York Times reports.
“The four U.S. soldiers, from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were reported missing early on March 25, when they did not return from a training mission in an M88A2 Hercules, a 70-ton vehicle that is essentially a giant military tow truck,” the Times explained.
Among the dead is 25-year-old Sgt. Edvin F. Franco of Glendale, who along with Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Illinois and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Guam was an M1 Abrams tank system maintainer.
The fourth soldier has not been publicly identified, though the Army confirmed that the fourth body was located Tuesday, one day after the other three bodies and the armored vehicle were removed from the bog.
“This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”
