STONE, CHRISTOPHER JAMES
RELEASED 05/04/99
Name: Christopher James Stone 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: 1972 25 yrs old Home City of Record: Smiths Creek MI 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 August 1991, Married, wife Tricia, one son, Ryan.
Other Personnel in Incident: Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez; Spec. Steven M. 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.
------------------------------------ Abducted soldier called 'a tough kid'
CAPAC, Mich., April 1 (UPI) A Michigan farm town is praying for the safety of a local man who is one of three U.S. soldiers captured and held prisoner by Yugoslavian forces.
Concerned supporters of 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone include his former Capac (KAY-pak) High School cross country coach, Ken Marzka, who calls him "a great young man" and "a tough kid."
The soldier's father James Stone lives in the area and received a call from the Pentagon early today notifying him of the capture in Macedonia near the Yugoslavian border.
Sgt. Stone is a native of the Smiths Creek area, east of Capac, in Michigan's Thumb. His wife and young child reportedly live in the San Antonio, Texas, area.
Speaking with reporters today outside the high school, Marzka called the 1991 graduate "a great young man, and I sure hope he gets out of this mess as soon as he can."
Marzka adds, "I can't imagine him giving anything to those guys (his captors). Nothing."
School counselor Kathy Kish, who knew Stone as a member of a Students Against Drunk Driving group, said "we are concerned about his safety as well as the other two hostages."
Stone is a calvary scout. He's been serving with a peacekeeping force in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and was abducted while on patrol.
After their capture Stone along with 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez of Los Angeles and 24-year-old Spec. Steven M. Gonzales of Huntsville, Texas, were shown on Yugoslavian television. ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------ Families of POWs had bags already packed Geralda Miller - Associated Press 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.
I'd like to tell you how excited we are right now to be on our way to see our family hero, said Deanna Stone, a sister of Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone.
Stone, 25, of Smiths Creek, Mich., Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles, and Spc. Steven M. Gonzales, 22, of Huntsville, Texas, will see their relatives today in Ramstein, the Army said.
Stone's wife, Tricia, who had kept a packed suitcase at the ready, left Texas with the couple's 4-year-old son, Ryan.
Near Los Angeles, Vivian Ramirez left home with plans to bring her son a bag of his favorite hamburgers. She first spoke to him late Saturday.
"He was speechless, Ramirez said. He was just so overwhelmed that he is coming home. He sounded excited, just like I am.
In Huntsville, the parents of Gonzales had stayed awake through most of the night, waiting for pictures of their son's release.
Seeing him free was a deeply moving moment, said Rosie Gonzales, his mother. We saw the three (soldiers) holding their hands in the air with big smiles on their faces. It was wonderful, wonderful to see.
Later, she was able to talk to her son by telephone. He said, `I love you, Mom and Dad. I'm free. I'll see you soon,' Mrs. Gonzales said. We told him we're on the way.