The bodies of three of four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing last week in Lithuania were found Monday after their armored vehicle sank into a peat bog during training.
The Army said the soldiers’ 63-ton M88 Hercules vehicle was pulled out of a bog early Monday morning with the use of excavators, pumps and other construction equipment, according to USA TODAY. Recovery efforts continue for a fourth soldier, officials said. The names of the soldiers have not yet been released.
The soldiers, from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, were conducting tactical training in the Pabrade training ground near the border with Belarus when they disappeared on March 25. Their vehicle was found submerged in a bog the next day.
Here’s what to know about bogs and peat bogs; are they dangerous? Are they common in the U.S.? And what type of vehicle were the soldiers using?
What is a peat bog? Are bogs dangerous?
Bogs are not just any type of wetland and require a particular sequence of events in order to form, according to Encyclopedia.com. They are characterized by spongy peat deposits — consisting of partially decomposed organic matter — acidic waters and a floor covered by thick carpet of moss, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
There are two primary ways bogs are formed: As moss grows over a lake or pond and slowly fills it, or when moss blankets dry land and prevent water from leaving the surface, the EPA said. Over time, acidic peat deposits build up in bogs, resulting in the growth of some of unique carnivorous plants, such as the Sundew, according to the EPA.
A Lithuanian told The Atlantic that it was easy to get a heavy vehicle stuck in the muddy terrain, and once a vehicle is submerged, it would be “nearly impossible” to get out. A soldier with heavy gear could be literally bogged down and sucked into the mud, the soldier told The Atlantic.
What is a M88 Hercules? What to know about M88a2
The M88A2 HERCULES is manufactured by BAE Systems Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of an international defense, aerospace and security company. HERCULES is an acronym for “Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System,” and is 70-ton (140,000 pound) capable, according to the company’s website. That means it weighs about 20 times more than a Tesla Cybertruck.
Its primary use is as a recovery vehicle, used to rescue combat vehicles that go over embankments, sink into the mud or wind up disabled in battle, according to BAE.
The HERCULES was the primary vehicle used during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and U.S. troops used the heavy-duty vehicle when they pulled down the Saddam Hussein statute in Baghdad on April 9, 2023.
The vehicle, used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, can hold seven persons and move at speeds up to 30 mph.
Where is Lithuania? Why was the U.S. Army in Lithuania?
Lithuania is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It lies on the eastern shore of Baltic region and the largest among the other two Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia.
The soldiers had been deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve as they worked alongside Lithuanian armed forces at last week’s training exercise, according to USA TODAY. Lithuania is a former Soviet republic and has been a member of NATO since 2004.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
