Robert Stethem
Robert Stethem (born November 17, 1961 - June 15, 1985 ) was a diver in the construction troops (also known as Seabees ) of the United States Navy in the rank of petty officer second class . He was murdered by terrorists during the hijacking of flight TWA 847 , on which he was a passenger.
Life
Robert Stethem was born in Waterbury and grew up in Waldorf . He was one of four children. His father and both brothers also served in the US Navy . His mother worked in the civil administration of the Navy. He graduated from high school in 1980 and joined the Navy shortly thereafter. There he served as a diver and steelworker second class (SW2) in Underwater Construction Team ONE, which is based at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
TWA flight 847
In 1985 Robert Stethem was on his way back from a mission in Nea Makri in Greece when TWA Flight 847 was hijacked en route to Rome . The kidnappers belonged to the Organization for the Oppressed of the World , a group with ties to the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah . They demanded the release of 435 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in Israel . When the kidnappers discovered that Stethem was a member of the US armed forces , he was tortured for several hours and ultimately shot. The terrorists threw his body from the plane onto the runway during a stay at Beirut Airport . Stethem's injuries from the abuse were so severe that he had to be identified by his fingerprints.
One of the kidnappers, Mohammed Ali Hamadi , was arrested two years later in Frankfurt am Main and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Stethem and the smuggling of explosives. After 19 years, he was deported to Lebanon in mid-December 2005. In June 2010 he was killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan .
Three other men, Imad Mugniyah , Hassan Izz-Al-Din and Ali Atwa , were also charged with their involvement in the kidnapping. You were placed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list in 2002. Mugniyah died in a car bomb attack in early 2008.
Awards
Stethem was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1994 the warship USS Stethem (DDG-63) was named after him. In 2010 Robert Stethem was posthumously appointed Master Chief Constructionman (equivalent to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer ) by order of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stethem, Robert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American diver in the United States Navy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17th November 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waterbury |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 15, 1985 |