Joliet soldier among 3 dead in Lithuania

A soldier from Joliet was among three U.S. Army servicemen found dead Monday in Lithuania, city officials announced.

Jose Duenez Jr. was among the soldiers who died when their armored vehicle sunk in a peat bog during a training mission.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy and council member Cesar Cardenas, who knows the family, announced Duenez’s death at a City Council meeting on Monday evening.

The U.S Army had not yet confirmed the identities of the dead soldiers.

“The family has been sharing it,” Cardenas said after the meeting. “They’re a Joliet family.”

Cardenas said he did not know Duenez personally but had gone to school with his sisters.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Duenez’s immediate family, which includes a wife and young son. He is described on that page as “a dedicated soldier” and “a loving husband.”

“Junior was known for his giving nature, a huge heart, and a pure soul,” according to the tribute to Duenez on the GoFundMe page. “He would do anything for those he loved, always willing to give the shirt off his back to help others in need. He truly lived a life of service, whether in his military career or as a friend and family member.”

The crew of four that included Duenez went missing on March 25, according to a news release from the U.S. Army.

A search continues for the fourth member of the crew.

They were in an M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle that was on a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle, according to the release.

The M88A2 Hercules was found submerged in a body of water in the early hours of Wednesday.

The release describes “a six-day-long effort that required tremendous resources from Lithuania, our steadfast ally, and hundreds of service members from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Polish Armed Forces – along with other elements from the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies – to solve the engineering challenge of recovering the 63-ton-vehicle from an area surrounded by unstable ground conditions."

The recovery effort included rescue personnel, technical experts, military helicopters, drones, sluice and slurry pumps, heavy construction equipment and “several hundred tons of gravel and earth,” according to the release.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of these brave soldiers,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of Task Force Iron and the 1st Armored Division,“ said in the release. “I’d like to personally commend the heroic efforts of the search parties, and especially our Lithuanian allies who were instrumental in the recovery efforts.”

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