Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
by Master Sgt. Bob Haskell
It happened to Charles Lindbergh as well as to Francis Scott Key and Rosa Parks.
It has happened to Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone following the 32 days last spring that he and two other U.S. Army soldiers were prisoners of war in Yugoslavia during the NATO air campaign.
Stone, like some famous people before him, is suddenly and unexpectedly an American hero because of a single event that captivated this country.
Stone is using his celebrity status to promote America's citizen-soldiers, the importance of defending freedom, and new Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki's vision of the Army.
Stone began his new duties as a full-time community relations specialist for the Michigan Army National Guard, in his home state, on Oct. 25.
He is also one of America's celebrated soldiers as the nation pays its Veterans Day tributes to the military men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country.
He has appeared on the "Today" show and been interviewed by members of the Associated Press. He fielded questions during three radio interviews in one morning while visiting Washington in early November. He recounted his experiences during a Veterans Day program at the Michigan Historical Society in Lansing Nov. 7.
"Life is going to get back to normal, but I'm always going to have this experience, and I'll always be able to share it with people when I talk to them about serving in the Guard and about military service," Stone said during a recent interview at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va. "I think it will be easier for people to relate to me because of my unique experience.
"The Code of Conduct tells us to never give up faith in your God and your country," said Stone who frequently feared for his life as NATO bombs fell on the cities of Nis and Belgrade where he was held apart from his two comrades. "Those two things are the cornerstone of being able to survive something like that. They worked for me."
"Using that experience, he has a vehicle to talk about freedom and about not taking freedom and America for granted," said Maj. Jim McCrone, a Michigan National Guard spokesman. "While it was a regrettable situation, he has made a conscious decision to make the best of it and to share that to enrich other people's lives and make America a better place."
Stone, 26, is a native of rural Capac, Mich., has become another ordinary American whose life and legacy have been defined by a single extraordinary event that has been branded into this country's conscience.
Aviator Charles Lindbergh made his mark by flying alone across the Atlantic in May 1927. Lawyer Francis Scott Key penned the poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" soon after the British stopped shelling Fort McHenry in September 1814. African-American Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., in December 1955.
Many people will long remember the beaten and battered faces of Stone, Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez and Spc. Steven Gonzales beamed around the world following their ambush and capture in Macedonia near the Yugoslavia border on March 31, a few days after NATO began its air campaign to stop the killing of ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
Images of the three considerably healthier soldiers standing with the Rev. Jesse Jackson after he secured their release in Yugoslavia on May 2 were also credited with reinforcing America's resolve to help the people in a distant land regain their freedom from oppression.
"It gave the average American a reason to be interested in that conflict," acknowledged Stone. "It brought it home for many Americans. It gave people a face to put on the struggle."
Stone's observations about how much he now values the freedom that most Americans take for granted and that he is still very much a soldier have gained him plenty of attention.
"By appreciating that freedom more, it makes you also appreciate those who have defended it for so long and who sacrificed themselves to provide that freedom to you," he said. "When it's gone, you really appreciate those who made those sacrifices in the past."
Stone and Gonzales have left the active Army and returned to their homes in Michigan and Texas. Ramirez has been transferred to Fort Irwin, Calif.
As far as he is concerned, however, Stone said he is still the same soldier he has been since 1991 -- who did his duty in Europe with the 1st Infantry Division and who is now assigned to the National Guard.
"I'm still in the Army. I'm still a soldier," stressed Stone. "As I came out of that situation, I was interested in finding something else to do, to take a different direction.
"I found a great opportunity in the Guard to continue to serve the country, to be in the Army for the same reasons I was before, and to come home and serve the state where I grew up and my community that showed so much support during that ordeal."
Stone explained he wanted to be a soldier since first reading about the Civil War and World War II when he was 10. Sixteen years later, after 32 difficult days as a prisoner of war, he has come to terms with the idea that he and the two other soldiers are considered heroes by a country determined to honor all of its warriors after ignoring the veterans of Vietnam.
But one of his messages for America during this Veterans Day is that he believes he is in the company of many heroes.
"Anyone who sacrifices themselves for someone else is a hero in my book," said Stone. "It doesn't matter whether you're serving in time of war, being in battle, or whether you're continually training to be ready to go fight. You're a hero. You are defending the freedoms and the values that we have as a country."
Editor's note: Master Sgt. Bob Haskell is a member of the National Guard Bureau Public Affairs staff.)
