MILAN (AP) — An underwater search expedition in Italy has come up empty-handed after a small submarine scoured the bottom of Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake, to look for any remains of the 24 U.S. soldiers who were among the last casualties in the country before World War II ended.

After three days of searching, the three-person submarine returned to the surface Thursday without no obvious evidence of remains or uniforms from the amphibious vehicle that sank in a storm on April 30, 1945.

Brett Phaneuf of the Pro-Mare underwater archaeology foundation that organized the search said the mayor of the tiny lakeside town of Nago Torbole placed an Italian and an American flag on the submerged vehicle as a memorial to those who drowned.

U.S. and Italian historians also gathered for a memorial on land.