The commanding officer of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) and three other members of his crew traveled to Waterbury, Connecticut, the birthplace of Steelworker 2nd Class Robert Stethem for whom the ship is named, for a visit Nov. 5.

During the visit, the ship’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Jeff W. Benson; along with Lt. j.g. Terence Viernes, Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Bradley Hildreth, and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Madisen Whiting, will visit the Washington, D.C., area and New York City to meet with local officials and civic groups, visit the 9/11 memorial, speak with students at the R.D. Stethem Educational Center, and pay respect at Arlington National Cemetery where their namesake is interred.

"My crew and I are looking forward to meeting with the community in Waterbury and the D.C. area to talk about the Navy and how we serve the American people," Benson said.

The ship was named after Stethem, who was murdered by terrorists during the hijacking of commercial airliner TWA Flight 847 in 1985.

Stethem was posthumously frocked to the honorary rank of Master chief Constructionman.

"We are proud to serve on Stethem, a ship named after an American hero, and we are honored to participate in this namesake visit in order to share his story,” said Benson.

Stethem is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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