SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A former U.S. Navy deep sea diver from South Bend who survived a 1985 airplane hijacking has died.
Palmer Funeral Homes confirmed 61-year-old Clinton Suggs died June 6 in his home in South Bend.
Suggs was one of dozens of passengers aboard a flight from Greece to Rome in 1985, which was hijacked by Islamic extremists. The plane was flown to Beirut, where passengers were held hostage and beaten for 17 days. Fellow navy diver Robert Stethem was killed during the ordeal.
Suggs’ wife, Carla Suggs, says that despite the hijacking, her husband continued his 20-year Navy career before retiring with an honorable discharge in 2000.
The Disabled American Veterans post in Elkhart will hold a memorial service June 30. Another service will be held July 23 at Elkhart’s McNaughton Park.
