Navy Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hawthorne and his dive team in Lithuania in 2025. (Courtesy of Joseph Hawthorne)
Crews had already spent days excavating a site in Lithuania where four soldiers and their armored vehicle sank into a bog last year. By the time Navy Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hawthorne and his dive team arrived to help with recovery efforts, the scene looked like a small pond.
Their first entry into the water was to assess the environment. Near the edge, the sediment was loose, giving the impression it would be an easy dive. But, Hawthorne said, once he passed that top layer, he sank past his knees into a dense, tangled mixture of mud, clay, grass and debris.
“It felt like trying to walk through something thick and heavy, almost like curing concrete,” Hawthorne said. “We were basically feeling our way through it blindly.”
Four soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division died on March 25, 2025, when their M88A2 Hercules armored vehicle sank into a bog during an early morning operation. All were members of the division’s 1st Brigade, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., and were deployed in the region at the time.
Hawthorne, currently stationed at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss., was named the USO’s sailor of the year for his role as the lead diver in the underwater operation that successfully recovered the remains of all four soldiers.
“I’ve been in the Navy for almost 23 years, and it was the most meaningful mission in my life,” Hawthorne said. “Just bringing those souls home, it was all I wanted.”
Hawthorne added that he will be retiring at the end of the month and is honored to conclude his military career with this recognition.
An official service photo of Navy Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hawthorne. (USO)
He will be honored at the USO Gala on April 16, alongside six other service members. The annual event recognizes one individual from each military branch for demonstrating heroic actions.
The other honorees include: Army Capt. Emily Malcolm; Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Garcia; Air Force Staff Sgt. Theodore Dudley; Space Force Master Sgt. David Gudgeon; Coast Guard Yeoman 2nd Class Cody Dmochowski; and National Guard Master Sgt. Jon Osterhout.
“Hawthorne and his team’s selfless perseverance under extreme operational hazards was the driving force behind the successful recovery of all four fallen soldiers, epitomizing the highest standards of service, courage and sacrifice within the U.S. Navy,” the USO said on its website.
Hawthorne has been a Navy diver for 17 years, performing many dives in zero-visibility environments. But he said the operation in Lithuania was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
“When the face plate went an inch below the water, it was lights out. No light was gonna pierce that type of environment,” Hawthorne said. “Go into a dark room, close your eyes and put your hands over your eyes. That’s what it was like. The darkest place that you could imagine.”
Hawthorne and several team members took turns diving repeatedly into the deep bog, and only got a few hours of rest at a time. He said their determination to recover the soldiers kept them focused despite the exhaustion and fear of becoming trapped in the wet and muddy terrain.
“We didn’t want to leave those guys behind,” Hawthorne said. “The families deserved closure.”
The weeklong operation involved hundreds of people helping, including personnel from the U.S. Army, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
About 10 minutes into a dive, Hawthorne was dredging when he stepped on the armored vehicle — one step closer to finding the soldiers. He said the vehicle’s recovery arm was about 6 feet down, so it took two dives to hook it up.
“It was extremely difficult, but once we got the tank hooked up, my body flooded with emotions. I was extremely tired, happy, excited and mentally drained,” Hawthorne said. “I knew the tank wasn’t sinking anymore, and they (the soldiers) were coming home. I was so happy.”
Army personnel were able to pull out the vehicle in the middle of the night. By then, three soldiers had been recovered, but one was still missing.
When Hawthorne and his team returned the next day, it took eight hours to find and recover the last soldier, he said. In total, the Navy divers spent about 48 hours completing the operation.
“It was very emotional, a lot of tears and a very happy moment. We finally got everyone home,” Hawthorne said.
