HOMESW2 Robert Dean Stethem
Hijacked, Tortured, Shot
June 15, 1985 - Beirut, Lebanon

Words can never describe the horror we all felt on that very tragic day.
On June 15, 1985 Hezballah Shi'ites brutally beat, tortured and then killed 23 year old Robert Dean Stethem as he was being held hostage aboard TWA 847 commercial airliner. Robert was on his way home after a tour of duty with the US Navy in the Middle East. The terrorists had hijacked the plane with 153 passengers in Athens Greece forcing the pilot to fly twice to Algiers and twice to Beirut during the 17 day siege. The hostages were released after Israel released 435 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners.
"When the plane was at the Beirut airport in Lebanon, Petty Officer Stethem was singled out because he was in the US military. After many hours of being cruelly beaten, tortured, and finally killed by the terrorists, they threw his body from the plane in a final disgraceful, cowardly act. The wounds were so terrible that his body had to be identified by its fingerprints.

Throughout the ordeal, Robert Stethem did not yield, and instead encouraged his fellow passengers to endure by his example. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for heroism and bravery. He is buried at Arlington Cemetery."
--Mark Crawford, Bryantown from "Who Was Robert Stethem"

The victim's brother said he remembers the funeral at Arlington National Cemetery and can't help but think about the flag-draped coffin.
"Every time I look at the flag now and for the rest of my life,'' said Kenneth Stethem, "the red will represent the blood he spilled, the blue the beating and bruises he endured, and the white the purity and integrity he demonstrated in sacrificing his life.''
--Arlington National Cemetery
Tribute to Robert Stethem
"I was one of the Navy Seabee Divers who had to endure the pain of hearing and seeing SW2 (DV) Robert Stethem go through the brutality of terrorism on June 14, 1985... As the gunman fired the fatal shot into my friends head, he cried out to God. That is the example I will always remember and try to follow. Never give up, endure all that is pressed upon me, and cry out to God for strength when I have done all that is within my power. We as a Nation can respond to evil in this same way. The motto of the USS Stethem DDG-63 is, "Steadfast and Courageous". This very applicable to the way Bobby lived & died."
.....A MUST READ: Tribute to Robert Stethem; at Marine Corps Moms.

On October 21, 1995 one of the world's most advanced warships the  USS Stethem, named after Petty Officer Robert Stethem, was commissioned by the United States Navy in honor of our fallen hero. SW2 Robert D. Stethem; USS Stethem Memorial

Email Received
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:50:29 -0600
The name Robert Stethem has not been in the front of quite a few people, but I will never forget the day I saw the cowardly act at the end of Robert’s life. I was 34 at the time and in the Air Force. I have kept Robert in my mind and told many of his courage. I wish I had met him. I was very happy this morning when I saw GMA and heard the Imad Fayez Mugniyeh was killed by one of his own methods of destruction. It does not make up for Robert’s death, but at least there was justice. Al F.

Terrorist Ali Hamadi Rejoins Hezballah Following Release From Prison
Terrorist Ali Hamadi FOX News Tuesday , September 12, 2006; By James Rosen; "WASHINGTON — One of the most infamous terrorists of the 1980s has rejoined Hezbollah following his release from a German prison and deportation to his native Lebanon in December 2005, a senior Bush administration official told FOX News. Mohammed Ali Hamadi was released despite strong U.S. objections, FOX News learned. Those objections were raised in phone calls to German authorities by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller, as well as by top-level State Department and administration counter-terrorism officials. "[The Germans] ignored us and didn't give us enough time to pursue it through legal action," an official told FOX News on the condition of anonymity. "They gave us very short notice." U.S. officials said they "can't rule out" the possibility that Germany deported Hamadi, after he had served 19 years of a life sentence, in exchange for the release of Susanne Osthoff, a German archeologist taken hostage in Iraq and freed four days after Hamadi's deportation. German authorities have denied any such deal was made."- FOX News

GERMANY RELEASES ROBERT STETHEM'S KILLER; December 20, 2005
Robert Stethem's family was never satisfied that hijacker Mohammed Ali Hamadi received a life sentence in Germany for the 1985 murder of the Navy diver from Maryland on a TWA airplane. Fearing that Hamadi could eventually be let go, the Stethem family pushed unsuccessfully for his extradition to the United State for trial. Their fears were realized Friday when Hamadi was granted parole by a German court after 19 years in prison. Hamadi was allowed to fly to Lebanon that day on a commercial flight from Berlin. His release has left the Stethems angry and dealt a potential blow to their hope that he would someday be brought before a U.S. court for Robert Stethem's murder. "I think it is absolutely disturbing," said Kenneth Stethem of California, Robert Stethem's brother. "He wasn't only released, he was given passage out of Germany."  Arlington Cemetery (Thanks M.J.)

Germany Capitulates to Terrorism   "The United States must send a clear message that Hammadi's release is unacceptable, and that immediate action will be taken to ensure that this brutal terrorist will be brought to justice. Both the House and the Senate should pass resolutions condemning the release of Mohammad Ali Hammadi. Congress and the Bush Administration should call on Lebanon to hand over Hammadi for trial in the United States to face justice under American law. If Lebanon does not comply with this request, the U.S. should hunt down and seize Hammadi under its policy of 'rendition' of terror suspects."- by Nile Gardiner; Posted Dec 23, 2005; Human Events Online

U.S. House of Representatives      U.S. Senate      The White House
"Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
- President George W. Bush, September 20, 2001

TERRORIST GROUP RESPONSIBLE
Hizballah (Party of God) a.k.a. Islamic Jihad
Lebanon-based radical Shi'a group takes its ideological inspiration from the Iranian revolution and the teachings of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. Hizballah is dedicated to liberating Jerusalem, ultimately eliminating Israel. Has several thousand supporters and a few hundred terrrorist operatives. Has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, North America and Asia. Receives financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and diplomatic, political, and logistic support from Syria. Patterns of Global Terrorism
WANTED KILLERS OF ROBERT STETHEM WHO WERE NEVER CAUGHT
Stethem Killers
Imad Fayez Mugniyeh;     Hassan Izz-Al-Din;      Ali Atwa
Rewards For Justice (USA) is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information to bring those responsible to justice.

From: Kathleen G
To: americamemory@yahoo.com
Subject: Robert Stethem
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:31:51 -0700

I was deeply affected by the death of Robert Stethem in 1985. I cried deeply for him. I remember him from time to time. In 1985, I was caring for my son who became two years old way back then. As a 5-month old baby, he would pick up his baby bottle and lift it up like it was a rocket. Starting in preschool, he was fascinated with jets. He is now 22 and an Air Force Reservist. I cried for Robert as a mother because he looked like how I imagined my own son Joey would like at that age Robert died. I have not forgotten Robert Stethem and all our military, and pray for all humanity.

Kathleen G.
Portland, OR


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