Wife of U.S. soldier found dead in Lithuania remembers the final texts with her husband

Still grieving from the immense loss, Georgia Franco shared the final texts she received before the U.S. Army discovered her husband's remains in a Lithuania peat bog after he went missing during a training mission near the border of Belarus. 

"They sent them out, and he had messaged me at like 7:14 (a.m) that they were almost at the people," Franco said. "It was radio silence after that."

Franco's husband, Sgt. Edvin F. Franco from Glendale, Calif. died alongside three other servicemembers during a mission to repair and tow an immobilized vehicle last Tuesday. The U.S. military identified two other men killed but withheld the fourth soldier's name until they contact the person's next of kin. 

The training exercise happened at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in the town of Pabradė when they and their vehicle were reported missing in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the U.S. army said.  

Army officials said they found the soldiers' submerged M88A2 Hercules under at least 15 feet of water, clay-like mud and silt. The 70-ton armored recovery vehicle is typically used to recover large disabled vehicles, such as the U.S. military's main battle tank, the M1 Abrams.

"They were never supposed to be out there alone," Franco said. "Our worst fear as a military spouse is getting a knock on your door, and when you're living that fear, it's an indescribable amount of pain."

Between 2006 and 2021, nearly 6,200 active-duty servicemembers died during an accident in non-hostile conditions, more than double the amount of service members killed in action, according to the Congressional Research Service.