I had a friend and co-worker who was on that flight. We were both stationed at a small AF base in Italy, and he was returning from California and took the long way home. This was his final leg of the trip. When they took control, they had everybody seated with their heads down between their legs. Fortunately for him, he had a civilian passport, and while bent over was able to sanitize his wallet of any military or government ID. When they got to him, he explained that it was a life-long dream to travel full-circle around the world, and that he was going to vacation in Italy.
There were at least two other military members on that flight besides Robert Stethem; they were both sailors. My friend told me that when they found out that they were from the USS New Jersey they went totally ballistic (the New Jersey had been shelling the hills of Lebanon) and beat these guys mercilessly. When they finally killed him, my friend said they did it so coldly and without remorse; like you and I swatting a mosquito.