MISSION OF MERCY; JACKSON MEETS BRIEFLY WITH 3 POWS.

Byline: Susan Sachs The New York Times

The three U.S. servicemen held by Yugoslavia described on Friday their days as lonely and monotonous, interrupted only by perfunctory daily visits from a Serb army officer and solitary exercise in their cells.

They said they have no contact with each other or with other prisoners in the same facility. One said he took a walk Friday outside his cell, only the second time he had been allowed to do so in his monthlong imprisonment.

Another said he was finally given reading material Friday, but the books were on Serb history and the Geneva Convention.

With the chairman of the military court monitoring the questions through a Yugoslav army interpreter and a military cameraman recording their answers, the three young soldiers were allowed to speak to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, and a reporter from The New York Times. They were filmed by CNN.

When they were given the opportunity to send messages to their families, each of the soldiers turned to face the camera directly and seemed, suddenly, very young.

``Hope it's all over soon,'' said Spc. Steven Gonzales, 21, of Huntsville, Texas. ``Mom, Dad, sorry I put you through so much pain and agony.''

Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone, 25, of Smiths Creek, Mich., was overcome.

``To my wife, Tricia, and my son, Ryan, I love you,'' he said, his face reddening and his eyes filling with tears. He stopped and seemed unable to go on.

Blagojevich, a Serbian-American Democrat whose father was raised in Yugoslavia, seized the uneasy moment, bringing a smile to the young soldier's face by saying that as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, he was going to make sure the captives receive a pay raise.

Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles, could spend only a few minutes with the visitors because an air raid siren sounded just before he was brought into the room, and the Yugoslav military officers tried to hustle the visitors out.

After pleas from Jackson, he was sent in with his two fellow soldiers for a final photo shoot and time in front of the television camera. He had time to do little more than send greetings to his family.

``Thanks, everybody, for all your thoughts and prayers,'' Ramirez said. ``They've been needed, and they're a big help.''

The members of the delegation that met the soldiers, as well as the length of the meeting, was decided by the Yugoslav government.

The visit lasted about 40 minutes. The three soldiers, who had been seen publicly only once shortly after they were captured along the Kosovo-Macedonia border, were brought one at a time into a room at the Belgrade Military Court building, just over the Sava River from downtown Belgrade, at about 6:30 p.m.

The authorities refused to say where the soldiers are being held and permitted them to answer only those questions that concerned their living conditions and their health. The Yugoslav government also specified that only two journalists and two members of Jackson's interfaith delegation to Belgrade, which includes several members of the clergy who had been in contact with the prisoners' families, could meet the servicemen.

The soldiers, dressed in their laundered U.S. Army camouflage uniforms, appeared nervous and anxious and sat straight in their armchairs. They wore their battered Army-issue boots without the laces, which they said had been taken away by their captors.

They said they were well-fed and had no medical problems and appeared fit, if tense.

Stone was the first to be brought into the small office of the general supervising the visit. He appeared tired, with dark circles under his eyes, and still had a bruise on his forehead, which he said ``is a mark from our capture.'' He added that he had received medical attention for the injury immediately after being taken into custody.

Stone, who received the reading material Friday, said he had only briefly ``caught sight'' of his fellow GIs during his captivity.

Gonzalez, who appeared more rested than the others, ventured the most elaborate description of his condition. Responding to a question from Jackson, he said he was ``OK, considering the circumstances.'' He added that he is also feeling ``a little mentally drained.''

Jackson told him, ``You are a hero. People know you all over the world.''

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Photo

PHOTO (Color) The Rev. Jesse Jackson meets Friday with Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, left, Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone and Spc. Steven Gonzales.

Associated Press