Peace Plan Highlights | Photo Gallery | Strike Assessment | News Video Archive | Strike at a Glance | Who's Who | Roots of the Conflict | Story Archive | Links | Discussion

The three former POWs, Stone (left), Ramirez (center), and Gonzales, were awarded six medals each  ALSO: Annan calls for U.N. to lead peacemaking efforts Yugoslavia says NATO cluster bombs kill 10 in Nis  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo RELATED VIDEO CNN's Jamie McIntyre bring us details of the March 31st capture of the U.S. soldiers (May 7) Windows Media 28K 80K

May 7, 1999
Web posted at: 6:19 p.m. EDT (2219 GMT)

In this story: Stone looks forward to hockey playoffs 'A hasty ambush' by Serbs Details of beatings and threats RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- Tired, but smiling, two former POWs arrived back in the United States on Friday to face crowds of reporters eager to find out more about their month of captivity in Yugoslavia.

Army Spc. Steven Gonzales, 22, arrived first in Dallas. Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone, 25, flew into Detroit a few hours later. Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, 24, will land in Los Angeles late Friday night. The three were released by Yugoslavia last weekend.

The best Mother's Day gift arrived a few days early for Rosie Gonzales when she and her husband escorted their son home to Texas. She stood proudly and sometimes tearfully by Gonzales' side as he held a news conference.

"It's great to be free, but also a little bit stressful," he said, smiling.

He said his 32 days in Serb prisons was "depressing." But Gonzales, who turned 22 while in captivity, tried to put a positive spin on the experience.

"I spent my birthday in a place few people have had the opportunity to spend their birthday. It was memorable," he said.

The three U.S. soldiers were rarely allowed to see each other while imprisoned. Gonzales said the isolation was tough, but he coped by praying and thinking of friends and family and happy memories from his home state.

"It's great to finally step back into Texas," the soldier told reporters.

Gonzales refused to talk in detail about his POW experience, saying he wanted to focus on his family and on his relaxation.

Before escaping into privacy, Gonzales will be honored at a parade in his hometown of Huntsville.

Stone looks forward to hockey playoffs

Stone is eager to see a Detroit Redwings hockey game

Stone flew into Detroit early Friday evening accompanied by about 20 family members. He was taken by military escort to the National Guard armory in Taylor, Michigan, where he made a brief statement.

He thanked everyone for their prayers for both him and his family. He also thanked the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his delegation of religious leaders for risking their lives in Yugoslavia in order to win the release of the POWs.

The soldier said his injuries were healing well. When asked about his treatment at the hands of Serb troops, he said the pictures of himself and his two comrades shown on Serb television shortly after they were captured spoke for themselves. Bruises and abrasions could be seen on the faces of the soldiers in the pictures.

A smiling Stone said he was looking forward to seeing the Detroit Redwings hockey team compete in the semi-finals.

Stone said he and his family were tired from their long flight, but he promised to answer questions during a news conference at the Port Huron Armory on Saturday.

Ramirez is due to arrive in Los Angeles late Friday

His alma mater, Capac High School in Saint Clair County, is honoring him with a parade on Monday night.

Ramirez is also scheduled to hold a news conference after he arrives Friday evening in his hometown of Los Angeles. No further details were available.

'A hasty ambush' by Serbs

On their final day in Germany on Thursday, the servicemen were honored by the Pentagon, the Army, the United Nations and NATO at a ceremony in Wuerzburg.

With their families looking on, each received six awards for exemplary conduct during their difficult time as prisoners, including the Purple Heart for injuries received in captivity.

The soldiers were captured by Yugoslav troops on March 31.

Belgrade officials insist they were on Yugoslav soil. But the Pentagon maintains that the three men were on a training exercise inside Macedonia when they were apprehended, and were treated roughly by their captors.

According to U.S. military officials, the soldiers -- riding in a Humvee -- became separated from other vehicles during the patrol. They had acted within military doctrine and did not stop at a store to get food or drink, as previously reported, Maj. Gen. David Grange said Friday.

The trio came under heavy fire from a Serb military ambush, and were forced to surrender when their Humvee was disabled by the fire, said Grange, the trio's commanding officer.

The three American soldiers were on a road they didn't normally travel because Stone was showing Ramirez an emergency route to a linkup point.

"Our movement on a different route kind of surprised the Serb element in the ambush site. And they were reacting a little bit surprised to the situation, just like our soldiers were," Grange said. "It was what we call a hasty ambush. Some came out of haystacks, some were running in front of the vehicle. And they had the advantage of the terrain and the superior numbers and the weapons systems."

The U.S. soldiers had a .50-caliber machine gun when they encountered the Yugoslav soldiers. The machine gun apparently had ammunition but was not in position to fire, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said Thursday.

Details of beatings and threats

The soldiers were beaten for days -- while shackled and hooded -- during their first week in captivity, Grange said. The captives faced threats ranging from death to having their ears cut off, Grange revealed.

They were forced to read propaganda containing disinformation about NATO, their mission, and the U.S. government under threat of injury or death and were put on public display on occasion and asked political questions, he said.

Grange said one example of an interrogation question was, "What is your family's address in the United States?" When the soldier refused to answer, he was struck in the back of the head with a baton and later choked with that baton.

After a 30-day leave, the former prisoners of war likely will return to their units in Germany, the Pentagon said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.