Joliet, Illinois soldier Jose Duenez Jr. among 4 killed in training exercise in Lithuania
The friend of one of the four American soldiers killed during a training exercise in Lithuania said he is struggling to process the loss.
Jose Duenez Jr., a native of Joliet, Illinois, and three other U.S. Army soldiers were found dead after their armored vehicle sank in a swamp while conducting a mission last Tuesday to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle.
Duenez's friend, Ben Muller, said he had just sent Duenez a Snapchat last week, and when he didn't hear back, he started to put the pieces together.
"Then I started seeing stuff in the news, and I was like, 'That's not possible, that's not possible,'" Muller said.
The two met a decade ago at a paintball business in Lockport and stayed close when Duenez went overseas for basic training. Muller served in the military as well.
Muller said Duenez was a tank mechanic in the Army – a job he loved.
"[He] specifically worked on the M1A1 Abrams-made battle tank," Muller said.
Duenez and three other soldiers were found dead after a massive six-day search by U.S., Polish and Lithuanian armed forces.
Their 63-ton armored recovery vehicle was out for a tactical training exercise when it went under 15 feet of water, claylike mud, and silt.
"In a vehicle that big — a wrecker that big, weighing that much — going into water and mud, I mean, they sink incredibly fast," said Muller, "and sometimes in those vehicles, there's only one way in and one way out."
Excavators, pumps, and several hundred tons of gravel and earth were moved to recover and pull up the tank. Duenez leaves behind a wife and a young son.
"I love that guy. … He had stuff about him that I had never seen in anyone else. I mean, he was compassionate, he was caring. The man would give you the shirt off his back if you didn't have it," Muller said.
Now, Muller said he will cherish the countless times he and Duenez went fishing together.
"My heart goes out to his family — you know, his wife, his kid, everybody around him," he said. "The other three soldiers that were killed, my heart goes out to them too."
Duenez's family said they need more time to process his death before they share his story.
Muller said they are waiting to hear when his remains will be sent back to the United States.
