Last week, the Baltic Republic of Lithuania demonstrated it doesn’t take our 103 year friendship for granted.
After four U.S. soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, tragically died during military exercises in Pabradė, Lithuania exhausted all means to assist. They stepped up in a big way in search and rescue efforts. Baltic peat bogs are treacherous, challenging to navigate, and, as we saw, deadly. This was nothing short of a tragedy. Tragedies, sadly, occur during military exercises involving U.S. servicemen.
Despite the tragedy, Lithuania and her people paid their respects to the four American soldiers with a funeral procession in the capital city, Vilnius, before their bodies returned to the U.S. On Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attended the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on behalf of the Trump administration.
Lithuanian Ambassador to the U.S. Audra Plepyte joined Secretary Hegseth at Dover and tweeted, “Profound honor to attend the Dignified Transfer of Remains, Ceremony of the fallen U.S. soldiers from @3rd_Infantry - to express our heartfelt condolences for their families & loved ones. Lithuania’s wholehearted solidarity w/ @SecDef, @USArmy @SecArmy & American people.”
This prompted some in the Trump administration, including Deputy Assistant to the President Senior Director for Counter Terrorism, Sebastian Gorka, to praise Lithuania and applaud their efforts in the following manner: “Four American soldiers just died in Europe in a vehicular accident. The honor and respect afforded them by the people of Lithuania is inspiring. Thank you to our friend and NATO ally.”
Even more comforting and impressive was that individual Lithuanians, themselves, went above and beyond by raising over $200,000 for the four men and their families. It was one of the most beautiful selfless acts of kindness ever carried out by an ally. Can the same be said of Germany? Hungary? France? England? Not in recent memory. This absolutely deserved more news coverage. Instead of looking to the big European countries who frequently take us for granted, we, in America, dismiss our actual European friends like Lithuania because they are smaller in size and stature. Not anymore.
Foundation in Defense of Democracies (FDD) Adjunct Senior Fellow Peter Doran, writing in the New York Post, echoed the importance of valuing our friends like Poland and the Baltics in wake of tragedy: “This was an emergency — and it revealed something important: America’s alliances are not just maintained through treaties and rhetoric, but through trust, equipment, personnel and shared peril.”
“This tragedy provides a compelling answer to Vice President JD Vance’s recent question: Does America still share core values with Europe?” Doran further posited. “When America’s soldiers went missing, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia answered: Yes.”
As Townhall readers know, I’m partial to Lithuania because my family hails from there. I gladly praise Lithuania for free on my own volition. Lithuania, like the other two Baltics, is undoubtedly “based.” I frequently write about the common values that bind our two nations together. That’s why I recently argued elsewhere that President Donald J. Trump should further strengthen ties between our two nations.
As I noted in another recent Townhall column, the Baltics, like Lithuania, are good dues-paying NATO members. I explained, “Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have all pledged over 5% of their GDP for NATO defense spending, while bigger Western European countries - and even Canada - have barely met the 2% threshold. Even during Trump 1.0, the Baltics were ahead of the curve. Americans should appreciate their commitment to being good NATO partners.”
Lithuania, like America, values freedom, energy independence, and toughness on adversaries like China and Russia. Hungary is frequently cited as our conservative equivalent in Europe, but I’ve argued that Lithuania better aligns with us across economics, culture, and national security.
It can be frustrating to deal with the European Union (EU) and its bureaucracy. But Lithuania’s new conservative party leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas reassured me last month that his party will lead deregulatory efforts in his country and apply similar pressures in the 27-member union.
While some on the Right are quick to dismiss NATO, Lithuania’s gracious display is a reason why the alliance - while imperfect - still matters and can be strengthened under Trump 2.0. The U.S. abandoning and withdrawing from the Alliance, a demand being made by some VeryOnline types in our movement, would mean that Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and other conservative-aligned nations could have their independence jeopardized, again, by the likes of Russia. That would be devastating. American leadership, instead, will make NATO stronger and more effective to deter Russian - and even Chinese - aggression.
Good friends are hard to come by these days–especially those in Europe. Thank you, Lithuania. You’re a model ally, and we, in the U.S., should appreciate good friends like you more.
