On this day, June 14, in 1985, Trans World Airline Flight 847 was hijacked by Hezbollah terrorists. The hijackers demanded to know the identities of people “with Jewish-sounding names.” The terrorists on the flight from Athens to Rome were armed with grenades and a pistol and forced the plane to land in Beirut.
After landing, they killed Navy diver Robert Stethem and threw his body onto the runway. An airline employee protected the Jewish passengers by not identifying them during a two-week ordeal. The hostages were released unharmed on June 30.
– Emily Babay
