duty aboard USS Stethem , the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer named in Robby's honor. I've shaken hands with his mother and father. I stood in ranks with tears leaking onto my dress white uniform the day that Robby's brother, Kenneth, retired from the Navy on the fantail of USS Stethem. Like most members of the Stethem crew, I almost feel like Robby is a member of my own family. I've stood a thousand hours of watch with his photograph looking over my shoulder. I've heard and told his story a hundred times, and maybe even shared a little of the pain of those who knew and loved him. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, Robert Dean Stethem became my brother in spirit, if not in flesh. His legacy became a part of who I am. And that makes me doubly angry that his killer is about to be free to pick up where he left off.