Robert Stethem

Robert Dean Stethem (November 17, 1961 – June 15, 1985) was a United States Navy Seabee diver who was killed by Hezbollah militants during the hijacking of the commercial airliner he was aboard, TWA Flight 847. At the time of his death, his Navy rating was Steelworker Second Class (SW2). He was posthumously promoted to Master Chief Constructionman (CUCM).

Early life
Stethem was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, but grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Waldorf, Maryland. He was one of four children. His father and two brothers also served in the U.S. Navy. His mother was a civilian Navy administrator. He graduated from Thomas Stone High School in 1980, where he played defensive back on the varsity and junior varsity football teams. He joined the Navy shortly after graduating.

Navy career
In the Navy, Stethem was a Seabee Steelworker assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 62 in Gulfport, MS. He served multiple tours on Diego Garcia and Guam. Later, Stethem became a 2nd Class Navy Diver and was assigned to the Navy's Underwater Construction Team One in Little Creek, Virginia.

TWA Flight 847
On June 14, 1985, Stethem was returning from an assignment in Nea Makri, Greece aboard TWA Flight 847 when it was hijacked by members of the Lebanese pro-Iranian organization Hezbollah. The hijackers held 39 people hostage for 17 days, demanding the release of 766 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

When their demands were not met, Stethem was targeted as a member of the U.S. military, and was beaten and tortured. Finally, the hijackers shot him and dumped his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport.

One of the hijackers, Mohammed Ali Hammadi, was arrested two years later in Frankfurt, Germany. He was tried and convicted of Stethem's murder and sentenced to life in prison. Three others, Imad Mugniyah, Hassan Izz-Al-Din, and Ali Atwa, were eventually indicted for their involvement in the incident. In 2002, they were added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. On February 13, 2008, Imad Mugniyah was killed in an explosion in Damascus, Syria.

Mohammed Ali Hammadi was paroled in December 2005 and returned to Lebanon. It is speculated that he was released in a prisoner swap in exchange for the release of Susanne Osthoff, who was kidnapped in Iraq one month earlier.

Awards and decorations
Stethem was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery Section 59, Grave 430 (38.878°N, -77.0658°W), near other American victims of international terrorism.

On August 24, 2010, in Yokosuka, Japan, onboard the ship named after him – the USS Stethem (DDG-63) – Stethem was made an honorary Master Chief Constructionman (CUCM) by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.

Honors
In his hometown of Waldorf, the Robert D. Stethem Memorial Sports Complex is named in his honor.

There is also a vocational school located in Pomfret, Maryland named the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center. In Virginia Beach, Virginia there is a barracks named in his honor at the Navy's Training Support Center Hampton Roads. The Stethem Memorial Navy Lodge at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Mississippi also bears his name. In addition, the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Training Center headquarters building and a street on the base are named in his honor.

In 1995, the U.S. Navy launched named a new Aegis Arleigh Burke-class destroyer – the USS Stethem (DDG-63) – in his honor.