Mar 12, 2009 9:17 am US/Eastern
Former U.S. Hostages To Be Decorated In Miami
The Men Were Contracted To Detect Cocaine Crops In Colombia
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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This handout from the U.S. Embassy, (L to R) Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes after being rescued from a FARC base by the Colombian Army.
U.S. Embassy/Getty Images
The United States will award three former military contract workers who were held hostage by FARC narcoterrorists for over five years in the jungles of Colombia with the civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart.
The three former hostages will receive the
Defense of Freedom Medal on Thursday from the
commander of the U.S. Southern Command Adm. James Stavridis.
Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes were captured by FARC rebels in 2003 when their spy plane crashed in the Colombian jungle.
They were released in July 2008 in 'Operation Jaque', the military operation that also secured the release of Ingrid Betancourt and eleven members of the Colombian security forces.
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