WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army has released the identity of the fourth soldier who died in a training accident in Lithuania, a day after his body was recovered during a weeklong search that took hundreds of troops and other rescue workers from three nations.
The 3rd Infantry Division said Wednesday the soldier was Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan. It said Knutson-Collins and two of the other soldiers who died have been posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.
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Lithuanian Army soldiers hold flowers in memory of three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A Lithuanian soldier holds his child as he looks at floral tributes in memory of three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
U.S. Army military vehicles including two M88 Recovery vehicles roll to attend recovery efforts continue for a missed U.S. Army soldier, as three other found dead on Monday, at a training range in Pabrade, north of Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Germany's Army soldiers light candles in memory of three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
This combination of images shows from left, Army Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam, Army Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, Calif., Army Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Ill., and Army Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Mich., who were killed in a training accident near Pabradė, Lithuania, in March 2025. (Department of Defense via AP)
The other two sergeants who were promoted were Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois, and Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California. The other soldier who died was Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam.
Their three bodies were recovered on Monday after U.S., Polish and Lithuanian armed forces and other rescuers dug their M88 Hercules vehicle out of a peat bog at the expansive Gen. Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in the town of Pabradė, 6 miles (10 kilometers) west of the border with Belarus.
All four soldiers were part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and were on a tactical training exercise when they and their vehicle were reported missing on March 25, the Army said. The 63-ton armored vehicle was discovered the following day submerged in 15 feet (4.5 meters) of water. It took days to pull it out of the bog.
Knutson-Collins, an artillery mechanic, had served in the Army for more than seven years and was assigned to 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment. He deployed to Korea in 2020.
“Words cannot express how deeply this loss is felt by everyone in our unit,” said Capt. Jackson Patillo, a commander in the 1st Battalion. “Staff Sgt. Troy Collins was an exceptional friend to all of us and an irreplaceable member to our entire Fox family that we will truly miss.”
There will be a formal dignified departure ceremony for the soldiers on Thursday in Vilnius, the capital, which is expected to include top Lithuanian officials and military leaders. They will eventually be transported to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
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Lithuanian Army soldiers hold flowers in memory of three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A Lithuanian soldier holds his child as he looks at floral tributes in memory of three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
U.S. Army military vehicles including two M88 Recovery vehicles roll to attend recovery efforts continue for a missed U.S. Army soldier, as three other found dead on Monday, at a training range in Pabrade, north of Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Germany's Army soldiers light candles in memory of three soldiers found dead on Monday at a training range in Pabrade, near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
This combination of images shows from left, Army Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam, Army Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, Calif., Army Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Ill., and Army Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Mich., who were killed in a training accident near Pabradė, Lithuania, in March 2025. (Department of Defense via AP)
