Despite claims from the press that President Trump has made America hated around the world, residents of Lithuania are donating tens of thousands of dollars to an online fundraiser for the families of American soldiers who died there during a recent training exercise, saying they came “to serve and protect our country.”

Three U.S. Army soldiers who went missing in Lithuania were found dead on Monday after a six-day search. The bodies were recovered from their M88 Hercules armored vehicle that was dredged out of a peat bog in the town of Pabradė early Monday. Another soldier remains missing.

An anchor of the long-running popular Lithuanian TV program “The Money Generation,” Andrius Tapinas, started the fundraiser on Monday afternoon, writing on X: “Young US soldiers came to Lithuania to serve and protect our country. In the line of duty they lost their lives. USA will provide financial support to their families but they died here, in Lithuania, so we urge Lithuanian people to join in the public fundraiser.”

A couple hours later, he wrote another post that said: “$34,000 raised by Lithuanians for the families of US soldiers who lost their lives on a mission in Lithuania.” The post also said “all funds raised during this week will be split into equal parts and after consulting with US officials transferred to the families.”

Just two hours later, Mr. Tapinas said the effort had raised $70,000.

It’s not the first time the journalist has collected money for causes. Mr. Tapinas also has his own online TV channel on YouTube called “Freedom TV,” where he conducted fundraising campaigns during the Covid pandemic and the 2021 Lithuanian migration crisis.

Some posters on X expressed gratitude for the fundraiser. “Thank you. Your compassion is seen here in the United States and we are grateful,” said one person, adding American and Lithuanian flags to the note. “This is really unexpected and touching,” wrote another. 

A US fundraiser for the families has also been set up on GoFundMe. By midafternoon Monday, it had collected nearly $13,000 of a $20,000 goal, with more than 100 people donating.

The U.S. Army Europe and Africa Public Affairs Office said Monday that “three U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were found deceased in Lithuania today, March 31. The Soldiers, whose identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25 in their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle while conducting a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle. Search and recovery operations continue for the remaining fourth Soldier.”

“The Soldiers we have lost in this tragedy were not just Soldiers — they were a part of our family,” said the 3rd Infantry Division commander, Major General Christopher Norrie. “Our hearts are heavy with a sorrow that echoes across the whole Marne Division, both forward and at home. We stand in grief with the families and loved ones of these extraordinary ‘Dogface Soldiers’ during this unimaginable time. But the search isn’t finished until everyone is home.”

The U.S. Army said that Lithuanian armed forces provided military helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, and search-and-rescue personnel for the joint search effort, bringing in excavators, sluice and slurry pumps, technical experts, and several hundred tons of gravel and earth to enable the recovery.

U.S. Navy divers maneuvered through thick layers of mud, clay and sediment “with zero visibility” in the peat bog to find the 63-ton vehicle on Sunday evening. The soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia.