William R . Higgins William Richard " Rich " Higgins ( January 15 , 1945 – July 6 , 1990 ) was a Colonel of the United States Marine Corps who was captured in 1988 while serving on a United Nations ( UN ) peacekeeping mission in Lebanon . He was held hostage , tortured and eventually murdered by his captors . Biography . William Higgins was born in Danville , Kentucky on January 15 , 1945 . He graduated from Southern High School in Louisville and earned his Bachelor ’ s degree from Miami University in Oxford , Ohio . A scholarship student in the Navy ROTC , he received the Marine Corps Association Award and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1967 . He later obtained Master ’ s degree s from Pepperdine University and Auburn University . He graduated from the Army Infantry Officers Advanced Course , the Air Force Command and Staff College , and the National War College . As a lieutenant , he participated in combat operations during 1968 with C Company , 1st Battalion , 3rd Marines in the Republic of Vietnam as a rifle platoon commander and rifle company executive officer , and was aide - de - camp to the Assistant 3rd Marine Division Commander . Returning to the States , Lt . Higgins served at Headquarters Marine Corps in 1969 . In 1970 , he served as the Officer - in - Charge of the Officer Selection Team in Louisville , Kentucky . Captain Higgins returned to Vietnam in 1972 as an infantry battalion advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps , then in 1973 served as a rifle company commander with B Company , 1st Battalion , 4th Marines . From 1973 to 1977 , Captain Higgins served at the Staff Noncommissioned Officers Academy and Officer Candidate School , both in Quantico , Virginia . Returning to the Fleet Marine Force in 1977 , Capt . Higgins was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina , where he again served as a rifle company commander with A Company , 1st Battalion , 2nd Marines . Upon promotion to major , he was reassigned as the Logistics Officer for Regimental Landing Team 2 , 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade . After completion of the Air Force Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in 1980 , designated a distinguished graduate , Higgins returned to Washington , D . C . where he served at Headquarters as a Plans Officer until his selection to the Office of the Secretary of Defense . During 1981 and 1982 , he served as Military Assistant to the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense , then as Assistant for Interagency Matters to the Executive Secretary for the Department of Defense . After graduation from the National War College in 1985 , he returned to the Pentagon as the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense , where he served until he was transferred to his United Nations assignment in July 1987 . He was promoted to Colonel on March 1 , 1989 , while in captivity . Capture and murder . On February 17 , 1988 , Higgins disappeared while serving as the Chief , Observer Group Lebanon and Senior Military Observer , United Nations Military Observer Group , United Nations Truce Supervision Organization . Higgins was driving alone on the coastal highway between Tyre and Naqoura in southern Lebanon , returning from a meeting with a local leader of the Amal movement , when he was pulled from his vehicle by armed men . He had been abducted by the Lebanese group Hezbollah . During his captivity , he was interrogated and tortured . As a reaction to his abduction , the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 618 , demanding his release . A year and a half after his abduction , images of his body , hung by the neck , were televised around the world from a videotape released by his captors . The exact date of Colonel Higgins ' murder is uncertain ; he was declared dead on July 6 , 1990 . Finally , on 23 December 1991 , his remains were recovered by the late Major Jens Nielsen ( Royal Danish Army ) attached to the United Nations Observation Group Beirut . His remains had been " . . . dumped beside a mosque near a south Beirut hospital . " He was interred at Quantico National Cemetery on December 30 , 1991 . Awards and honors . Col . Higgins ’ military decorations include : the Defense Distinguished Service Medal , Defense Superior Service Medal , Legion of Merit , Bronze Star with combat " V " , Purple Heart , Meritorious Service Medal , Navy Commendation Medal with gold star and combat " V " , Combat Action Ribbon , Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with silver star , Staff Service Honor Medal , United Nations Medal , and numerous unit commendations and campaign ribbons . On March 18 , 1992 , President George Bush awarded Col . Higgins the Presidential Citizens Medal ( posthumous ) . The medal was accepted by his wife , Robin , and daughter , Chrissy . Col . Higgins was also survived by two sisters . On February 17 , 1994 , the Secretary of the Navy announced a new Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer would be named for Col . Higgins . On October 4 , 1997 , the was christened by Col . Higgins ' widow , Robin Higgins . It was commissioned on April 24 , 1999 . In April 2003 , he was posthumously granted a Prisoner of War Medal . DoD General Counsel Judith A . Miller initially blocked the award in 1998 based on the claim that " circumstances do not appear to meet the criteria established by Congress for award of the Prisoner of War Medal . " The Navy later overruled her after it was determined that the 1989 expansion of the eligibility criteria allowed the award .