(June 27, 2006)--The U.S. military now says explosives experts had to dismantle three roadside bombs to reach the brutalized bodies of two missing U.S. soldiers.

In a statement, the military says the remains were found tied together with a bomb between one soldier's legs.

A U.S. military official said last week that one and possibly both young men were tortured and beheaded.

Maj. Gen. James Thurman, commander of the Fort Hood-based 4th Infantry Division, has ordered a formal investigation to determine the facts of the June 16 attack.

According to the military statement, the bodies of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Oregon were found the evening of June 19.

The military says the bodies were found near where the men had been abducted when insurgents attacked their checkpoint.

A third soldier, Spc. David Babineau of Massachusetts, was killed in the attack.

The three soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky.

The military said it waited until daylight the next morning to recover the two bodies because an Iraqi in the area had warned the area was booby-trapped.

The bodies of the two soldiers have been returned to their homes in Texas and Oregon.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday in Redmond, Ore., for Tucker, who was 25 years old.

Menchaca's remains were flown to Brownsville where a funeral Mass is scheduled for the 23-year-old on Wednesday.

Congressman Solomon Ortiz, who was on hand for the return of Menchaca's body, noted that the soldier will be buried along with medals for being a prisoner of war, a Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star.

“He earned them, he goes down with them,” Ortiz said.

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