Captive GI Andrew Ramirez Honored at Rally

At a veterans rally to support Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez Jr. of East Los Angeles and two other GIs held captive in Yugoslavia, Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante said Friday the diversity of the U.S. armed forces has been lost on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

“How ironic that Americans of every ethnicity are serving side by side to bring peace to a land suffering the atrocities of yet another inhumane campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing,’ ” Bustamante said.

Bustamante was one of several Latino elected officials who appeared at a rally held at the Mexican American All-Wars Memorial in Boyle Heights. Vivian Ramirez, the captive soldier’s mother, appeared to receive a POW/MIA flag and a copy of a proclamation specifying Friday as Staff Sgt. Andrew A. Ramirez Jr. Day in California.

“Let me tell how I’m holding up so well,” Vivian Ramirez told the crowd of 100 people. “It’s because of all the letters I’ve been receiving, all the support from everyone.”