LITHUANIA — The body of the fourth U.S. Army soldier from Georgia’s Fort Stewart that went missing with three others in Lithuania during a training exercise last week has now been recovered.

In the early morning hours of March 25, the four soldiers went missing. The first three soldiers and their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle were recovered from a peat bog yesterday.

All of the soldiers’ identities are being withheld pending confirmation of notification of next of kin.

“First and foremost, we offer condolences to the loved ones of our Soldiers,” said Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “I can’t say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies - and our own Sailors, Airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers - have enabled us to find and bring home our Soldiers. This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends.”

“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, 3rd Inf. Div. commanding general. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”

The search for the soldiers was conducted by hundreds of rescue workers from U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Polish Armed Forces, Estonian Armed Forces, and many other elements of the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies.

“We are incredibly relieved that we were able to bring this recovery to an end and bring closure to all the Families, friends and teammates of our Soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general, 1st Armored Division. “We cannot thank our Allies and fellow service members enough, especially the Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission. Together, we delivered on our promise to never leave a fallen comrade.”

Commenting on the fourth and final soldier being recovered, Lt. General Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps stated, “we will continue to mourn their loss as we work to quickly return our Dog Face Soldiers home to their families. It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries, and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers. Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.”