15 Lithuanian Freedom Fighters and Genocide Victims Laid to Rest

The Jūžintai cemetery became the final resting place for 15 Lithuanian partisans and victims of Soviet genocide, marking a solemn ceremony of remembrance and state honor. The remains, discovered during searches, were interred in state and family plots, accompanied by three volleys of respect and memory, and the presentation of Lithuanian flags to relatives.

During the ceremony, Colonel Darius Vaicikauskas, deputy commander of the Lithuanian Land Force, emphasized the partisans' role as an organized Lithuanian army and the sole legitimate authority during the Soviet occupation. He stated that the current Lithuanian army honors its predecessors by participating in the search and reburial of these freedom fighters.

Anthropological and genetic studies conducted by Vilnius University and the Forensic Medicine Laboratory successfully identified nine of the 15 individuals. Among those identified were Edvardas Tranas, Vytautas Dičius, brothers Leonas and Bronius Pajėda, Napalys Kušlys, Albinas Kilius, Stanislovas Vanagas, Jonas Matuzonis, and Pranas Staškevičius. The DNA of the remaining six individuals is stored in a database, with further identification efforts ongoing.

The search for the partisans in Jūžintai was organized and led by the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center, with archaeological work carried out by the Institute for the Study of the Past, assisted by soldiers from the King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion. This collaboration underscores the Lithuanian military's commitment to honoring the memory of those who fought for the nation's freedom.

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Lithuanian partisans – acted as an organized Lithuanian army during the occupation and the only legitimate authority in occupied Lithuania. By contributing to the search for partisan remains, the current Lithuanian army honors its own predecessors, because Lithuanian partisans are our soldiers.