Serb Army sortied into Macedonia to capture US military personnel.

No exchange of political prisoners

The Truth: ‘We Crossed the Border’ -- ABCNEWS.com

May 8 - One of the three U.S. soldiers recently released by Yugoslavia said he thought he and his two companions had crossed the border into Serbia before they were seized, but another said he was “not exactly sure” where they were.

There have been conflicting claims over where the men were when they were captured by Yugoslav forces on March 31, a week after NATO first starting bombing Yugoslavia. They were released Sunday to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who had gone to Belgrade to negotiate on their behalf.

Yugoslav authorities have insisted the soldiers, who were patrolling near a winding, border road in Macedonia, had crossed into Serbia and were seized there. But Maj. Gen. David Grange, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, to which the men were assigned, said they were 1 ½ miles south of the border.

All three men were home in the United States today after traveling Friday. Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone, 25, arrived back in Detroit. Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez, 24, returned to Los Angeles, and Spc. Steven M. Gonzales, 21, was in Dallas.

Where Were We?

Soon after their release, they were videotaped for an interview aired Friday on ABCNEWS’ World News Tonight and 20/20 Friday. Asked how they were caught, Gonzales replied:

“We drove into, I guess, their territory, across the border. And they had many soldiers with rifles at close range.”

The Pentagon released this transcript of the last radio transmission from the abducted soldiers:

Soldiers: “We’re in contact, we’re taking direct fire.” Base: “You better not be bullshitting me.” Soldiers: “We’re not. We’re taking direct fire. We’re trapped. They’re all around us. We can’t get out.”

Stone, who commanded the Humvee the soldiers were in while captured, said that while the Serb fighters told him they were in Serbia, “I’m not exactly sure where it was.”

He described hearing “pings” on the vehicle from what Grange said were 40 to 50 rounds fired at the Humvee.

“I told the driver to turn around and go back the way we came, and he did that,” Stone said. “And we were still getting shot at. And as we came up over a little hill, a little hilly cliff or whatever, we got stuck. And once we got stuck, we immediately became surrounded by Yugoslav soldiers pointing rifles.”

He said there were about 20 Serb soldiers surrounding the vehicle. Outnumbered and unprepared to return fire with their .50-caliber gun and or the small sidearms - M-16 rifles and 9 mm pistols - they were carrying, the Americans surrendered. They were soon beaten bloody.

“Once we were pulled out of the vehicle, it was pretty much open season,” Stone said. “The kicking, beating, punching. My bruises specifically came from one pretty serious kick to the face from some guy while I was laying on the ground.”

Injuries Detailed

Grange said the Americans were treated most harshly during their first week of captivity but were subjected to less severe mistreatment, including punches to the stomach and slaps in the face, throughout their incarceration.

He said they were forced to read anti-NATO propaganda under the threat of injury or death, and they were forced to wear hoods over their heads for part of their imprisonment.

When examined by doctors after their release last Sunday, Ramirez was found to have a stitched-up wound on the top of his head and two fractured ribs, as well as swelling of his lower right leg. His injuries have begun to heal and no surgery is planned.

Stone was found to have a broken nose, plus bruises, a chipped tooth and abrasions on his face. Military doctors said Gonzales sustained a chipped tooth and abrasions on his wrists, presumably from handcuffs.

Soda Pop, Please

After being released, Ramirez had a simple request. “I would die for a Coca-Cola,” he said, adding that he wanted a decent meal. Gonzales asked for rest and some “good food.”

Stone talked of the anxieties he felt while blindfolded and imprisoned, and of how hard it was not to be told what was going on outside - even Jackson’s visit came as a surprise. But the worst was being kept indoors.

“Not seeing the sun for a month is probably one of the hardest things. You don’t realize you missed it, until it’s gone from your life, when you’re in a dark cell 24 hours a day,” he said.

Now, however, the men are being treated as heroes. They’ve received six medals, widespread accolades and an audience with the president for their ordeal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Training For the Opposite Maj. Gen. David Grange, the soldiers’ commander, said Friday he saw no fault in how the three acted during the confrontation near the border between Macedonia and Serbia, although he said that after their capture the Army stopped allowing border-area scout patrols to move in single vehicles.

Later, U.S. soldiers stopped patrolling the border area altogether. The Americans had followed established Army procedures while scouting an emergency evacuation route in an area near the border that was familiar to them from many previous such missions, he said.

Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon was asked why the soldiers had been alone so close to the Yugoslav border.

“They were supposed to reconstitute into their three-vehicle platoon or convoy before leaving, and this one did not come back to the place where they were supposed to reconstitute,” he said.

“They were actually training to avoid the type of situation in which they were caught.”

    Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering said consideration was being given to the release of the two Serbian prisoners of war held by NATO in light of Milosevic's release of the three Americans. But he also raised the possibility that they might be kept longer in light of the 'possibility' that more Americans might be captured by Milosevic's forces.

Source: US Discourages Freelance Diplomacy By TOM RAUM Associated Press Writer