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 ( ) , 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 .