Hailey, Idaho (CNN) -- No one here knew exactly where he was or what he was going through, but this tiny city in Idaho never forgot about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Yellow balloons and American flags line the sidewalks of Hailey, population 8,000. Residents planted one tree for each of the five years Bergdahl was held captive in Afghanistan. Now, uncertainty has given way to elation as the Army sergeant has been released from his captors -- in exchange for freeing five Taliban members held at Guantanamo Bay. "There were times where we wondered, but (parents) Jani and Bob Bergdahl never once gave up faith that their son was coming home to them," family friend Stefanie O'Neill said.
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NEW: Official: "We had an urgent matter, and we had an opportunity, and we seized it"
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U.S. "does not leave its men and women behind," White House spokesman says
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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was released after 5 years of captivity in Afghanistan
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He is at a medical center in Germany and will likely be transferred to Texas
"The recovery and reintegration of @placeholder is a work in progress," Bob Bergdahl told reporters Sunday, one day after his son was freed.
Bergdahl's condition on Monday was stable, and he was "receiving treatment for conditions that require hospitalization," a @placeholder defense official told CNN.