GONZALES, STEVEN M.
RELEASED 05/04/99
Name: Steven M. Gonzales Branch/Rank: United States Army/Specialist Unit: B Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. Date of Birth: 1978 21 yrs old Home City of Record: Huntsville TX 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 Sept 1996
Other Personnel in Incident: Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez; Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone
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.
------------------------------------------- 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....... --------------------------
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. --------------------------------- Soldiers' families fly to Germany
By Geralda Miller
Associated Press
May 3, 1999
PORT HURON, Mich. - The families of the three U.S. servicemen freed by Yugoslavia were en route to Germany on Sunday for reunions, filled with joy and even bringing a bag of one soldier's favorite hamburgers.
The men 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......
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