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By The Associated Press
Friends and former teachers of the three U.S. servicemen captured by Yugoslav forces described them as tough, well-liked young men who were proud to serve their country.
The Pentagon identified the three as Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone, 25, of Smiths Creek, Mich.; and Spc. Steven M. Gonzales, 24, of Huntsville, Texas.
Stone graduated in 1991 from Capac High School, where his former cross-country coach, Ken Marzka, recalled he was happy to serve in the Army.
``Chris is a tough kid. ... He never quit. He never was great (as a runner). But when push came to shove, he got tougher and tougher,'' Marzka said today. ``Chris is going to be just fine.''
Friends in Texas remember Gonzales as an academically gifted high school student who left Texas A&M after his freshman year because he wanted to join the elite Army Ranger corps.
``That was the point of joining: so he could go to Ranger school,'' recalled Kelly Williams, a classmate of Gonzales' at Palestine High School.
Ms. Williams said she thought it was Gonzales as soon as she saw his picture broadcast early this morning on television.
``Unfortunately, he's got rather big ears. He used to wiggle his ears for us and make us laugh,'' she said. ``That's how I knew it was him. I was, like, you could not mistake those ears.''
Science teacher Kay Stroud said Gonzales ``was the type of student you'd love to have: hardworking, always happy, funny.'' She recalled he was on the school science team that won the district championship in his senior year.
Stone also was popular at his school in Michigan, said a schoolmate, Melissa Biondo.
``He was gorgeous,'' she said. ``Every younger girl had a crush on him.''
``We're pretty much in shock,'' Stone's father, Jim Stone, told the Times Herald of Port Huron, Mich., today. ``We didn't know anything that was going on.''
In Los Angeles, outside the modest home of Ramirez's father, Andy Ramirez, neighbors today prayed for his son and reminisced about the all-American kid they watched grow up.
Ramirez joined the Army after graduation in 1992 from Schurr High School in nearby Montebello, where he competed on the wrestling team, Assistant Principal William Pierce said today. He described Ramirez as ``a nice kid.''
By joining the Army, Ramirez was following in the footsteps of his hero, older brother Steven, an Army veteran who is now a Los Angeles detective.
``Those two brothers are very close,'' said their great-uncle Frank Jasso. ``It hit home because we're a very united family.''
Gonzales' parents, Gilbert and Rosie Gonzales, seem to be doing well since learning Wednesday of their son's capture, said Glen Castlebury, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where Gilbert Gonzales is an administrator.
``They saw the pictures on TV this morning and were elated that Steven didn't appear to be seriously injured,'' Castlebury said at a news conference. The family had moved from Palestine to Huntsville after he graduated from high school.
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