Three Germany-based U.S. soldiers killed in action while serving with the Romanian Land Forces were posthumously honored at the unit’s headquarters in Bucharest earlier this month, the Army announced.

Romanian Lt. Gen. Teodor Frunzeti conferred the Medal of Honor of the Romanian Land Forces on Maj. Brian Michael Mescall, 33, of Teaneck, N.J., and presented the Badge of Merit, “In the Service of Peace,” 3rd Class to Sgt. Jason Ray Parsons, 24, of Lenoir, N.C., and Cpl. Joseph Michael Hernandez, 24, of Hammond, Ind.

The awards were to be sent to the soldiers’ families.

The 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment soldiers were attached to a Romanian unit when they were killed Jan. 9 when a roadside bomb blew up near their Humvee in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

“By conferring these awards, we offer these distinctions as a sign of respect and appreciation of the sacrifice made in the name of freedom,” Frunzeti, the Romanian Land Forces’ chief of staff, was quoted in a 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command news release.

For the Romanians “to decorate our fallen soldiers with their highest honors proves there is a commitment to peace, cooperation, and camaraderie that extends beyond the battlefield,” Brig. Gen. David R. Hogg, JMTC commander, was quoted in the release.

Hogg added that two other 1-4 soldiers are recovering from wounds received in the same blast.

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