Robert Dean Stethem (November 17, 1961 – June 15, 1985) was a United States Navy Seabee diver who was murdered by Hezbollah members during the hijacking of the commercial airliner he was aboard, TWA Flight 847.

His father, Richard Stethem, retired from the Navy as a Senior Chief after 20 years, continuing to work for it as a civilian afterwards.

[2] In the Navy, Stethem was a Seabee Steelworker assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 62 in Gulfport, Mississippi.

[2] 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 organization Hezbollah.

The hijackers kept 39 people hostage for 17 days, demanding the release of 766 Lebanese and Palestinians held by Israel.

[9] On April 24, 2015, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus presented the Prisoner of War medal to Stethem's parents.

A scene from the movie The Delta Force shows a U.S. Navy diver being beaten, tortured, murdered and his body being dumped onto the tarmac.

Stethem was portrayed by Steven Eckholdt in the 1988 television movie The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story.