Man Slain by Terrorists Was Navy Frogman

BALTIMORE —  The passenger killed by terrorists aboard a hijacked plane in Beirut has been identified as Robert Stethem, a 24-year-old Navy frogman from Waldorf, Md., Rep. Roy Dyson’s office said today.

Stethem, a member of the Naval Seal Program who was eight months short of completing his four-year Navy tour, was identified through fingerprints, medical records and identification of friends, said Katie Tucker, a spokeswoman for Dyson.

Stethem, a 1980 graduate of Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf, was in his hometown three weeks ago to visit and was still on extended leave when the beating and shooting occurred, Tucker said.

She said Stethem was traveling on private business from Greece back to his temporary station in Rome.

His family lived in Waldorf for 19 years but also had a home somewhere in Virginia, which it obtained when Stethem was stationed at Virginia Beach, Tucker said.

Earlier today in Waldorf, Stethem’s father, Richard, had refused to comment on the situation until he was notified by the military. Tucker said a Navy chaplain had been dispatched to the home, but the father could not be reached by telephone because of a persistent busy signal.