Robert Stethem
Encyclopedia
Robert Dean Stethem 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
. His Navy rating was Steel Worker
Second Class (SW2).
, but grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia
& 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.
In the Navy, Stethem was a Seabee
Steelworker assigned to NMCB-62 in Gulfport, MS. Assigned to NMCB-62, Stethem 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 in Little Creek, Virginia.
In June 1985, Petty Officer Stethem was returning from an assignment in Nea Makri, Greece aboard TWA Flight 847
when it was hijacked by members of the Lebanese
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. He was sentenced to life in jail. 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.
It was reported by Pakistani intelligence Mohammed Ali Hammadi
was killed in June 2010 in Pakistan along the Afghanistan border by a US Drone along with 10 other foreigners staging attacks against NATO forces in Afghanistan.
and Bronze Star
. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Section 59, near other American victims of international terrorism.
On August 24, 2010 onboard USS Stethem in Yokosuka, Japan, Robert Dean Stethem was made an honorary Constructionman Master Chief Petty Officer by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
.
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 Damneck Naval Base. A Navy Lodge in Gulfport, Mississippi also bears his name. In addition, the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Training Center Headquarters Building and a street on the base in his honor.
In 1995, the U.S. Navy launched an Aegis Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, the USS Stethem (DDG-63)
in his honor.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Seabee
Seabee
Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...
diver who was killed by Hezbollah militants during the hijacking
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
of the commercial airliner he was aboard: TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847 was an international Trans World Airlines flight which was hijacked by Lebanese Shia extremists, later identified as members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, on Friday morning, June 14, 1985, after originally taking off from Cairo. The flight was en route from Athens to Rome and then...
. His Navy rating was Steel Worker
Steel Worker (US Navy)
Steelworker is a United States Navy occupational rating.Steelworkers perform tasks directly related to fabrication and erection of pre-engineered structures, including steel reinforcement; control job site deployment of materials and equipment; direct and coordinate the composition, training and...
Second Class (SW2).
Biography
Robert Stethem was born in Waterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, but grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
& Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C. The population of the census-designated area only was 67,752 at the 2010 census...
. 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
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
teams. He joined the Navy shortly after graduating.
In the Navy, Stethem was a Seabee
Seabee
Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...
Steelworker assigned to NMCB-62 in Gulfport, MS. Assigned to NMCB-62, Stethem 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 in Little Creek, Virginia.
In June 1985, Petty Officer Stethem was returning from an assignment in Nea Makri, Greece aboard TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847 was an international Trans World Airlines flight which was hijacked by Lebanese Shia extremists, later identified as members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, on Friday morning, June 14, 1985, after originally taking off from Cairo. The flight was en route from Athens to Rome and then...
when it was hijacked by members of the Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
organization Hezbollah. The hijackers held 39 people hostage for 17 days, demanding the release of 766 Lebanese and Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
prisoners held by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
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
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
at the Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
airport.
One of the hijackers, Mohammed Ali Hammadi
Mohammed Ali Hammadi
Mohammed Ali Hammadi aka Mohammed Ali Hamadi and Mohammed Ali Hamadei, is a wanted terrorist. A Lebanese citizen and alleged member of Hezbollah , he was convicted in a West German court of law of air piracy, murder, and possession of explosives for his part in the June 14, 1985 hijacking of TWA...
, was arrested two years later in Frankfurt, Germany. He was tried and convicted of Stethem's murder. He was sentenced to life in jail. Three others, Imad Mugniyah
Imad Mugniyah
Imad Fayez Mughniyah , also transliterated Mughniyya, Mughniyeh, Mogniyah, , alias Hajj Radwan , was a senior member of Lebanon's Hezbollah organisation. He was alternatively described as the head of its security section, a senior intelligence official and as a founder of the organisation...
, Hassan Izz-Al-Din
Hassan Izz-Al-Din
Hasan Izz-Al-Din is a Lebanese national wanted by the United States government.Hasan Izz-Al-Din is an alleged member of Hezbollah. He is currently wanted by the United States government for his alleged involvement in the June 14, 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847. This attack resulted in the...
and Ali Atwa
Ali Atwa
Ali Atwa is a Lebanese national and member of the Islamist organization Hezbollah. Atwa is also known as Ammar Mansour Bouslim and Hassan Rostom Salim....
were eventually indicted for their involvement in the incident. In 2002, they were added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists is a list of fugitives who have been indicted by sitting Federal grand juries in the United States district courts, for alleged crimes of terrorism. The initial list was formed in late 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks...
list. On February 13, 2008, Imad Mugniyah
Imad Mugniyah
Imad Fayez Mughniyah , also transliterated Mughniyya, Mughniyeh, Mogniyah, , alias Hajj Radwan , was a senior member of Lebanon's Hezbollah organisation. He was alternatively described as the head of its security section, a senior intelligence official and as a founder of the organisation...
was killed in an explosion in Damascus, Syria.
Mohammed Ali Hammadi
Mohammed Ali Hammadi
Mohammed Ali Hammadi aka Mohammed Ali Hamadi and Mohammed Ali Hamadei, is a wanted terrorist. A Lebanese citizen and alleged member of Hezbollah , he was convicted in a West German court of law of air piracy, murder, and possession of explosives for his part in the June 14, 1985 hijacking of TWA...
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
Susanne Osthoff
Susanne Kristina Osthoff is a German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq since 1991 until being taken hostage there on November 25, 2005. She was freed by her captors on December 18, 2005.- Biography :...
, who was kidnapped in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
one month earlier.
It was reported by Pakistani intelligence Mohammed Ali Hammadi
Mohammed Ali Hammadi
Mohammed Ali Hammadi aka Mohammed Ali Hamadi and Mohammed Ali Hamadei, is a wanted terrorist. A Lebanese citizen and alleged member of Hezbollah , he was convicted in a West German court of law of air piracy, murder, and possession of explosives for his part in the June 14, 1985 hijacking of TWA...
was killed in June 2010 in Pakistan along the Afghanistan border by a US Drone along with 10 other foreigners staging attacks against NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Awards and decorations
Stethem was posthumously awarded the Purple HeartPurple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
Section 59, near other American victims of international terrorism.
On August 24, 2010 onboard USS Stethem in Yokosuka, Japan, Robert Dean Stethem was made an honorary Constructionman Master Chief Petty Officer by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Navy, which has a paygrade of E-9. The holder of this rank and post is the most senior enlisted member of the U.S...
.
Honors
In his hometown of Waldorf, there is a sports complex named in his honor on Piney Church Road. Robert D. Stethem Memorial Park includes 10 ball fields, two of which have 90-foot infields; the complex is the main complex for the Waldorf Little Leagues. It was opened in 1990 and boasts a memorial stone 75 yards from Stethem's memorial, which includes a tribute plaque to several former Waldorf players, as well as local umpires and district officials who have lost their lives.There is also a Vocational school located in Pomfret, Maryland
Pomfret, Maryland
Pomfret is a small crossroads in Charles County, Maryland. Maurice J. McDonough High School is nearby and has a Pomfret mailing address. The active historic Catholic church established by Father George Hunter, S.J. in 1763 is located in Pomfret. The current structure dates from 1849...
named the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center. In Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
there is a barracks named in his honor at Damneck Naval Base. A Navy Lodge in Gulfport, Mississippi also bears his name. In addition, the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Training Center Headquarters Building and a street on the base in his honor.
In 1995, the U.S. Navy launched an Aegis Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, the USS Stethem (DDG-63)
USS Stethem (DDG-63)
USS Stethem is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The ship was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, starting on May 11, 1993. The ship was commissioned on October 21, 1995 and is based out of Yokosuka, Japan. It has operated throughout the Pacific Ocean, as well as on...
in his honor.