Post History

A Private First Class, he enlisted in January 1943 on his 18th birthday. He first served with an antiaircraft organization in Texas and at Camp Davis NC, then transferred to the 142nd Infantry in December, six weeks before going overseas.

He was killed March 16, 1945 in France.

Trotter has been buried at Saint Peters Catholic Church Cemetery where his headstone carries the inscription: PFC 142 INF

WORLD WAR II

After graduating from Thomas Stone High School in 1980 he joined the U.S. Navy where he was trained as a diver and as a steelworker.  He was assigned to the Navy Underwater Construction Team One in Norfolk, Virginia, and in 1985 the team was sent to Nea Makri, Greece, to repair a Navy Communications facility.

On the return flight, TWA-847 with 153 passengers was hijacked by Hezbollah terrorists.  When the terrorists’ demands were not met, they forced the airplane to fly to Beirut, Lebanon.  When Steel Worker Second Class Stethem was identified as a U.S. sailor he was bound and beaten in an attempt to force him to scream into a transmitter so that the tower would send fuel.  However, Stethem steadfastly refused to cry out as he was beaten and tortured for several hours.  He chose to remain silent and endure the beatings because he knew that the only way a rescue attempt could be conducted was if the aircraft remained on the ground. Ultimately, because of his silence, he was shot in the head by an enraged terrorist who dumped Stethem’s body out a door onto the tarmac.  

Stethem was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for heroism.  In 1995 the destroyer USS STETHEM (DDG-63) was commissioned in his honor.  On August 24, 2010, onboard USS STETHEM in Yokosuka, Japan, Stethem was made an honorary Constructionman Master Chief Petty Officer by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.  

Stethem has been buried at Arlington National Cemetery where his headstone carries the inscription: SW2-DV  –  US NAVY  –  PURPLE HEART  –  BRONZE STAR.