President Donald Trump opted to attend a LIV Golf tournament at his Trump National Doral Miami golf course on Friday, April 4, instead of being present at the dignified transfer ceremony for four U.S. soldiers. The soldiers lost their lives in a training accident in Lithuania, and their remains were received at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware by several senators and military personnel, but not the president.
The soldiers, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were reported missing on March 25 during a tactical training exercise at the Gen. Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, Lithuania, located approximately six miles west of the Belarus border. Their M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle was discovered submerged in a peat bog.
A joint effort by Lithuanian, Polish, and U.S. soldiers, along with rescue teams, led to an extensive search through forests and swamps. The vehicle was extracted from the bog on Monday, March 31, with the last body recovered the following day.
Prior to the soldiers’ departure to the United States, Lithuania held a farewell ceremony attended by President Gitanas Nausėda and other dignitaries, as well as thousands of citizens. Hearses carrying the soldiers’ bodies moved through the streets to Vilnius airport, marking a solemn occasion.
“For us, it is more than a duty — it is an emotion. We have experienced trials in our history, and therefore, we understand well what loss is, what death is, what honorable duty is,” Nausėda said to those gathered, which included teachers and schoolchildren waving Lithuanian and U.S. flags.
The soldiers were identified as Sergeant Jose Duenez Jr., Sergeant Edvin F. Franco, Private First Class Dante D. Taitano, and Staff Sergeant Troy S. Knutson-Collins. They were stationed in Lithuania as part of NATO’s Operation Atlantic Resolve, with over 1,000 American troops rotating through the country.
While the nation mourned, President Trump was at a Saudi-backed LIV Golf event at his Florida resort. White House officials stated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth represented the administration at the ceremony in Dover.
The president’s decision drew criticism from veterans and the public. One veteran expressed having “never been so embarrassed to be an American” due to Trump’s absence.
When questioned about the missing soldiers a day after their disappearance was reported, Trump claimed he had not been briefed on the matter, despite the Army announcing the search for the servicemembers prior to his press conference.
Trump reportedly mentioned the dignified transfer to reporters, noting he would be “speaking tonight” to “some of the best players in the world” at the golf event. Later, he was scheduled to attend a fundraising dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
This is not the first instance of Trump missing a dignified transfer ceremony. During his first term, he attended only four out of 96 such ceremonies. Since 2017, following a confrontation with the father of a slain Navy SEAL, Trump has reportedly avoided ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base.
The dignified transfer is a solemn military tradition honoring fallen service members as their remains return to American soil. The families of the deceased soldiers were present at the ceremony and requested privacy, with no media coverage.
The incident occurred amid heightened tensions in the Baltic region due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia, remains on high alert, as the training accident site is just about six miles from Belarus, an ally of Russia.
Some critics noted the apparent contradiction of Republicans often emphasizing military respect while remaining largely silent on Trump’s absence from the ceremony for the fallen soldiers.
The four soldiers were buried this week after funeral services in their hometowns. The Army continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the training accident in Lithuania.
