In the Baltic region of Europe, near Lithuania’s border with Belarus, hundreds of soldiers and emergency workers searched endlessly for four missing U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division. According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, the soldiers were reported missing from a scheduled training exercise near the city of Pabrade on March 25th, around 4:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. ET). A week of intense searching later, and all four have been found dead as reported by the U.S. Army.

The military was able to identify all four soldiers as Staff Sergent Troy S. Knutson-Collins, Sergent Jose Duenez Jr., Sergent Edvin F. Franco, and Private First Class Dante D. Taitano.

“This loss is simply devastating,” said Major General Christopher Norrie, the 3rd Infantry Division commanding general, “These men were honored Soldiers of the Marne Division. We are wrapping our arms around the families and loved ones of our Soldiers during this incredibly difficult time.”

The M88 Hercules armored vehicle, used for the training exercise, was recovered from 15 feet of water according to Lithuanian officials. It took days to pull the 70-ton vehicle ashore due to water, thick mud, and soft ground requiring special equipment to stabilize the terrain. Military helicopters and diving teams were needed for the seismic operation.

The 1st Armored Division, which led the search, contacted a dive team in Hawaii that regularly works in bogs to help the effort. “They do a lot of recovery missions in heavy swamps and mud,” Major General Curtis Taylor (commander of the 1st Armored Division) said, “They just completed a similar mission in Papua New Guinea. We had our dive team talking to their dive team about techniques of digging through the mud.”

It wasn’t until recovery dogs from Lithuania and Estonia, a nearby country, joined the search effort that the discovery of the soldiers’ bodies was made. The dogs worked on a U.S. Navy inflatable boat and were able to successfully pick up trace scents from below the surface of the bog.

Staff Sgt. Knutson-Colling, 28-years-old, was an artillery mechanic who served in the Army for more than seven years. His body was recovered and identified a day later than the others. “Although we are relieved to have found all our Dogface Soldiers, it does not make the pain of their loss any less,” said Maj. Gen. Norrie.

Sgt. Duenez was a M1 Abrams tank system maintainer with over seven years in the Army. Capt. Madyson K. Wellens, Diesel Forward Support Troop commander, said in a statement that the 25-year-old greeted “every challenge with a smile and a readiness to support anyone who required assistance.”

Sgt. Franco served in the Army for over six years, he was also 25 and also a M1 Abrams tank system maintainer. “Edvin was a friend whose influence touched so many,” said Wellens

Pfc. Taitano “constantly brought the team together with his charisma and laughter,” said Cpt. Matthew Lund, Darkhorse Troop commander. Taitano, 21-years-old, was a M1 Abrams tank system maintainer on his first deployment. He served in the Army for nearly two years.