Four U.S. soldiers died in March when their armored vehicle sank in a swamp during a training exercise in Lithuania. Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hawthorne, a Seabee diver stationed at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, has been recognized by the USO as its Sailor of the Year for his role in the recovery effort.
Recovery Operation
Hawthorne and his team were deployed to Lithuania within 12 hours of receiving the call about the sunken vehicle. “As soon as we hit the ground on Saturday, we made our first dive that evening,” Hawthorne said. “Within 48 hours, we had all four soldiers recovered.”
The recovery operation involved hazardous conditions, including zero-visibility waters, risks of entrapment, equipment failure, and potential environmental poisoning. Hawthorne voluntarily and repeatedly entered a life-threatening environment, tunneling through mud that threatened to trap him.
Challenging Conditions
The area where the vehicle sank initially appeared to be a small puddle, but was actually a bog with a deceptive surface. “We got on site, and they excavated all that stuff out, and it was the size of a, like a small pond,” Hawthorne explained. The mud at the bottom was so thick that divers sank to their knees.
Hawthorne’s previous training at the Navy Dive and Salvage Unit in Panama City Beach, Florida, prepared him for murky conditions, but the Lithuanian bog presented a unique challenge. He described the experience as “trying to walk in curing concrete underwater.”
Focus on the Mission
Despite the risks, Hawthorne and his team remained focused on recovering the soldiers. “We all wanted to get these guys home, you know?” Hawthorne said. “Our only concern was we’re not leaving until we get these guys out and home.”
The USO highlighted Hawthorne’s selflessness and persistence, stating that his actions demonstrated the highest standards of service, courage, and sacrifice.
Team Effort and Future Plans
Hawthorne emphasized that the mission’s success was a team effort, involving his 13-member dive detachment and approximately 300 personnel from Lithuania, Latvia, and other European countries. He expressed gratitude for the support he received.
Hawthorne joined the Navy in 2003 as a Seabee and pursued Navy diving in 2008, graduating from dive school in 2009. He is currently stationed at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, having returned there after several deployments. He plans to retire at the end of April and focus on his roll-off dumpster business, Coastal Elite Dumpsters, while remaining on the Coast with his wife and two children.
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