The discovery was announced on Tuesday afternoon following a weeklong recovery effort.
The body of a fourth U.S. Army soldier who went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania last week has been found, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth confirmed the discovery of the body on Tuesday afternoon following a seven-day recovery effort.
“I want to personally extend my deepest condolences to the families of all four fallen Soldiers. Our hearts are heavy across the Department of Defense,” he wrote in a statement on X. “We are deeply grateful to our brave servicemembers who enabled this difficult recovery and to our Lithuanian hosts who labored alongside them.”
The soldier, who has not been publicly identified, was the last to be found after the bodies of three others from a peat bog, where their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle sank, were found on Monday.
According to the Defense Department, the soldier was permanently stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve to provide credible ground deterrence alongside allies and partners.
A multi-agency recovery effort was launched immediately after the soldiers went missing during the training exercise in the early hours of March 25.
The last body was found with the help of hundreds of rescue workers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Polish Armed Forces, Estonian Armed Forces, and Lithuanian government agencies.
“The recovery was conducted with urgency, resolve and deep respect for the fallen,” Hegseth added. “We will never forget these soldiers—and our prayers are with their families.”
People with U.S. national flag come to pay their last respect to the three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 1, 2025. Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo
The soldiers were all part of the Army’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. Their identities are being withheld until their immediate families are notified.
“This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie said in a statement. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”
Along with all four bodies, the soldiers’ armored vehicle was also recovered from the site, military officials said.
The U.S. Army continues to investigate the cause of the accident.
