RAMIREZ, ANDREW A.
RELEASED 05/04/99
Name: Andrew A. Ramirez Branch/Rank: United States Army/Staff Sgt. Unit: B Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. Date of Birth: 1973 24 yrs old Home City of Record: Los Angeles CA Date of Loss: 31 March 1999 Country of Loss: Macedonia/Serbia Yugoslavia Loss Coordinates: last reported on a civilian road in Kumanovo, about 10 miles (16 km) from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, and less than 3 miles (5 km) from the Kosovo border. Status: DETAINEE -- changed to POW 04/01/99 Category: Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Humvee/Ground Missions: NOTE: Joined the service in July 1992
Other Personnel in Incident: Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone; Spec Steven Gonzales
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Compiled from news clips; AP, UPI, London Times, New York Post, ABC in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.
SYNOPSIS: Serb TV early today showed pictures of three American soldiers it said its forces captured near the Macedonian border.
The men were identified as Sergeants James Stone and Andrew Ramirez and Specialist Steven Gonzales.
The patrol, a unit from the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, was part of a NATO force put in place to secure Macedonia's border with Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.
[All three soldiers were assigned to B Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany.]
The soldiers were named on television are thought to be held in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.
The vice-president of Yugolslavia, Vuk Draskovic, said: "Nothing wrong will happen to them. We are respecting the enemy.
We will be sticking to the terms of the Geneva Convention. You can be sure of that." However, he then warned: "They are going to face Serb justice."
Pentagon and NATO officials said alliance forces and Macedonian police mounted an urgent air and ground search for the soldiers, who were last reported on a civilian road in Kumanovo, about 10 miles (16 km) from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, and less than 3 miles (5 km) from the Kosovo border.
The last words heard from them were "help, help, SOS."
Serbia claims they will hold a military trial for all 3 men.
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U.S. Soldiers Pass Tests, Signs Of Injuries American Soldiers Arrive at U.S. Military Hospital in Landstuhl By Thomas Atkins LANDSTUHL, Germany (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers held in Yugoslavia for a month passed preliminary medical examinations Monday although a top-ranking military official said they may have been mistreated by their captors. The soldiers, who were released by Belgrade Sunday, appeared before journalists with family members at a U.S. army medical center in the western German town of Landstuhl, 150 km (90 miles) west of Frankfurt. "They are very upbeat, very positive and proud of their sons, just like their units are," said Colonel Mike Sullivan, chief spokesman for the U.S. Army in Europe, after meeting with the soldiers and their families. Major General David Grange, commander of the soldiers' unit, said there were indications they had been maltreated even though the soldiers said they had been treated well. "I don't think that all the treatment was well," Grange said at a news conference in Landstuhl. "Some of them were poorly treated at the beginning but that will be determined." The soldiers, who have not talked to reporters since arriving in Germany Sunday, spent 32 days imprisoned in Belgrade. The three are Steven Gonzales, 22, of Huntsville, Texas; Andrew Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles; and Christopher Stone, 25, of Smiths Creek, Michigan. Officials said that Stone had suffered a broken nose and that Ramirez had two broken ribs -- both injuries had been revealed in X-rays and were now healing, they said. Ramirez had also lost 11 pounds during captivity and had a swollen right leg but doesn't remember how it happened. The three soldiers were seized near Macedonia's border with Kosovo on March 31 and paraded on Serbian television the following day appearing battered. Asked what evidence they had that the soldiers had been maltreated after their capture, Sullivan said: "You saw what we saw and that was what General Grange was talking about, and beyond that we're not going to get into it." Colonel Mack Blanton, chief of clinical services at Landstuhl, said X-rays of Ramirez's fractures showed they had occurred recently, although whether that was before capture or immediately afterwards was not possible to determine medically. "What we have are rib fractures that radiographically appear to be recent," Blanton said. Sullivan said some of the injuries resulted from being handcuffed. "There was evidence that they had been shackled, but that was certainly to be expected," he said. When asked whether the three had succumbed to the so-called Stockholm syndrome, where those imprisoned begin to identify psychologically with their captors, Grange said: "The investigation will determine that, and I think you'll see mixed results." Grange also said he was sure that the three were on Macedonian territory when captured, not on Yugoslav land as Belgrade had said. The soldiers were given a clean bill of health by Army medical officials and began meeting their families after arriving in Landstuhl Sunday. Army doctors in Landstuhl said the soldiers' health was due in part to exercising regularly during captivity in keeping with Army training. "They are in general in very good health," said Blanton. The three were handed over to American civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Belgrade Sunday. They crossed into Croatia and were flown from Zagreb to the U.S. base in Germany. -------------------------- Ex-POW's Rest And Reunite Updated 5:04 PM ET May 3, 1999 (RAMSTEIN, Germany) -- The three American servicemen freed by Yugoslavian officials after a personal visit by the Reverend Jesse Jackson are resting after being reunited with their families in Germany. The mother and father of Steven Gonzales of Huntsville arrived early this morning Texas time as did Christopher Stone's wife and infant child from San Antonio and his parents from Michigan. All are getting extensive medical exams. Stone was given a "cat scan" of his head as he was the soldier with the most visible heads wounds after his capture. It's expected all three men will head back to the states later this week. ---------------------------- Their Long Wait Is Over 3 Soldiers' Relatives Plan To Fly To Germany CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes Reports LOS ANGELES The call came just CBS before midnight. After speaking to her son, Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, by cell phone, Vivian Ramirez burst out of her east Los Angeles home to share the good news with friends, neighbors - and reporters - gathered outside.
"Rev. Jesse Jackson freed him. He said he is free. He's coming home. And I am so happy. I had to come out and tell you."
CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports that Mrs. Ramirez is planning to depart within hours for Germany for a long-awaited reunion with her son.
The Ramirez family and the relatives of the other two U.S. servicemen held captive in Yugoslavia are heading to Germany Sunday to reunite with the three servicemen who were freed Sunday morning after 32 days in Yugoslav custody.
Ramirez, Spc. Steven Gonzales and Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone all called their families on a cellular phone after Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic allowed them to be released to Jackson in Belgrade.
"All three of them said almost to the letter in talks to their loved ones, 'I am free, I am free'," Jackson said. "'I love you very much. I hope to see you soon.' That was the message."
Stone family spokesman Maj. James McCrone, a public relations officer at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Mich., said relatives of Stone, of Smiths Creek, Mich., might board a plane to Europe on Sunday to be reunited with the serviceman.
"Of course, they're very excited and they're anxious to see Chris. They're very thankful for Rev. Jackson and the others who have been involved in Chris' release," he said. "Grateful and appreciative really captures the essence of what they are feeling."
Stone's mother already has pictures of a tearful reunion. "I don't think we'll have to say anything to each other," she said. "Just look into each other's eyes and hold each other."
Prior to their release, the families said they would keep their televisions on and phone lines open waiting for the good news.
"I'm waiting for the big call that they're on the bus and on their way out," Mrs. Ramirez's mother said at a news conference Saturday. She said she would "wait with the phone next to me ... until they call me."
Asked what she would do when she sees her son, Mrs. Ramirez said: "Cry. I will hug him, and then I will not let go." She called Jackson "a lifesaver."
In Huntsville, Texas, the parents of Gonzales were ecstatic after speaking with their son.
"To hear his voice just meant everything to us," said his mother, Rosie Gonzales. "All we could say was, 'We're going to see you soon. We're going to see you soon'."
The family already was planning to leave for Germany and she was looking forward to a reunion with her son.
The last time Gilbert and Rosie Gonzales saw their son, he was apologizing to them on videotape from Belgrade for causing them pain and anguish.
"The first thing I want to do is just look in his eyes," his mother said."Look at those beautiful eyes and look at that beautiful smile and give him a great big hug. I don't think words are necessary at that point."
Gonzales, 22, Ramirez, 24, and Stone, 25, were taken captive March 31 while patrolling the Yugoslav-Macedonia border as part of a peacekeeping mission, seven days after NATO launched its bombing campaign in Yugoslavia.
Tricia Stone, Stone's wife, was "packed and ready to go" in the event of her husband's release, said her stepmother, Lisa McKinney.
"She is praying and she is very hopeful that it is true," she said. Mrs. Stone and the couple's 4-year-old son, Ryan, have been staying with Ms. McKinney in Texas.
Neighbors who went to the Ramirez home were filled with hope, many bearing flowers. "I feel wonderful now," said Lala Szalonek, 72, who brought a brimming vase. "I'm excited. I'm shaking inside."
In Capac, Mich., near Stone's hometown, Linda Eldred spent the day adorning her downtown floral-and-gift shop with new yellow bows and making many more to give away.
"I haven't known that kind of excitement since my brother and husband came home from Vietnam," she said.
CBS Worldwide Corp.