It was March 17, 1973, and it had been six long years since she had last seen her father, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm, an Air Force fighter pilot who was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and had been missing or imprisoned ever since. Stirm laughed. "It's not fair. May 17, 2017. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. See Photos. In his home near San Francisco, a Vietnam history book is opened to that She passed away in 2010 at the age of 74. Burst of Joy is not an image of the Stirm family. The centerpiece of the photograph is Stirm's 15-year-old daughter Lorrie, who is excitedly greeting her father with outstretched arms, as the rest of the family approaches directly behind her. Why? to grow up," the letter read in part. And she did not even have She had turned 11 only two days before. She lives in Mountain View, Calif., with her husband. He joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San Francisco, but found it ungratifying. She had . [1] [2] Lorrie is survived by her husband, Thomas B. Adams; children, Lorrie Kitching and husband Norm, Robert Stirm, Roger Stirm and wife Nevert, Cindy Pierson and husband Steve; loving grandchildren, Christopher Clark, Jessica Pierson, Nicholas, Ryan, Cody and Sommer Stirm, Norman Kitching IV, Ralph, Irene and Rhoda Minderhoud; and one great-grandchild core. the house.". Three decades after the Stirm reunion, the scene, having appeared in countless books, anthologies and exhibitions, remains part of the nation's collective consciousness, often serving as an uplifting postscript to Vietnam. Stirm laughs. was going to be faced with, and it was kind of unwelcomed," Stirm said. Though it revives the pain, it is inevitable that he see the picture again from time to time. But he says he can't bring himself to display the picture. The Pulitzer Prize-winning picture that captured that very personal yet most public of moments symbolizes the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, the bittersweet homecoming of 591 American POWs in 1973. It seems like another lifetime ago, she said. Get notified of updates. On October 27, 1967, Stirm was shot down over Hanoi while leading a flight of F-105s on a bombing mission, and was not released until March 14, 1973. ", The minutes crept by like hours, she recalls, and then, all at once, the car door opened. "There's some sort of notoriety in that. The momentum to stay alive for my familys sake was very strong, because I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see, he said. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Sign up for service and obituary updates. Posted by ; On Maj 26, 2022; Burst of Joy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Associated Press photographer Slava "Sal" Veder, taken on March 17, 1973, at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California, United States. The families who did not get a reunion like hers. But the photo per se didn't really change my life--it was my father coming home that changed my life." He kept copies of the image, but none are on display. Run Background Search. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. "It seems like another lifetime ago," she says. Still, he says, the couple have come together for weddings and other family The momentum to stay alive for my familys sake was very strong, because I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see, he said quietly. . She was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. Yet throughout that ordeal, the momentum to stay alive for my familys sake was very strong, Stirm told the Associated Press. Just one grandparent can lead you to many "It's a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into," she says. In the photo, he is 14, partially blocked by Lorrie, a broad smile on his face. In many ways, thats what makes the picture unworthy of being displayed in the retired pilots home. Subscribe to our Historynet Now! But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. He returned a few years ago, however, after the company that hired him as a corporate pilot went bankrupt. And even though some us stand at a distance, we are the children running to embrace a loved one returning home. This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men, he said. Today, she is Cindy Pierson, the 31-year-old mother of an 8-year-old girl. Stirm was shot down over Hanoi on October 27, 1967, while leading a flight of F-105s on a bombing mission, and was not released until March 14, 1973. I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see. Bob and Loretta met at a party just after he graduated from Air Force cadet Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the picture recently and saw herself at 15, about to leap into her fathers arms, her feet shod in her first pair of high heels. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. She is wearing her favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary Janes. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. His older daughter is racing to meet him, arms outstretched, both feet off the ground, face split wide in a giddy smile. Afterward, he ran into the ladies bathroom on the base and developed the pictures. She is married to an attorney and still lives in Foster City, but declined to be interviewed. Dave Chappelle helped kill plans for an affordable housing development in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reports. "She had a rough job, raising four children on her own," Lorrie says. "I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you Twenty years later, the picture is very different. picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of It's not just," Stirm says today. Photographer Slava 'Sal' Veder photographed the reunion of Vietnam war vet & Prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert Stirm with his family on March 13, 1973. Stirm was shot down over Hanoi on 27 October 1967, while leading a flight of F-105s on a bombing mission, and not released until 14 March 1973. Lorrie cho hay, ngay trong nm m cha c tr v, cha m c ly hn. View profile Edit profile Lorrie Stirm Kitching. He worked well past the age of 60, and is currently 86 years of age. Many people try to escape the past by willing themselves to forget, by allowing the years to dull the ache and make the memories recede. [5] Lorrie later recounted in 2003: "We were in a car behind the aircraft on the tarmac, and then they said, "You can get out now." She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. Lorrie Morgan "Watch Me"Listen to Lorrie Morgan: https://LorrieMorgan.lnk.to/superhitsYDSubscribe to the Lorrie Morgan YouTube Channel: https://LorrieMorgan.. George Washington had complained vociferously about the flood of questionable foreign volunteers. newspaper clippings from all over the world, she recalls. like when Dad came home. But the photo per se didn't really change my life - it was my father I was so young. wonderful, pure moment in time. She lived a lie. But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. notoriety and publicity to me and, unfortunately, the legal situation that I Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Publicada el junio 4, 2022 por junio 4, 2022 por But to him, it evokes bitterness and betrayal. Robert's flight, as part of Operation Homecoming, brought 20 POWs back . Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. Phone Numbers: the honor and integrity to be honest with the kids. [10], After Burst of Joy was announced as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, all of the family members depicted in the picture received copies. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Travis Bickle, meet Toni Morrison, in a socially probing, fiercely fun debut novel, Scott Adams says he was using hyperbole: America being programmed to see race first, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Its really bad up here. Stranded residents in San Bernardino Mountains brace for more snow, 10 books to add to your reading list in March. Directly behind Lorrie in the photo is Cindy, the youngest child. Lorrie Stirm Kitching [the girl running to greet her father, who had been released in 1973 after fives years in a Hanoi prison] 'We have this very nice picture of a very happy moment, but every time I look at it, I remember the families that weren't reunited, and the ones that aren't being reunited today many, many families and I think, I'm one of the lucky ones.' She is wearing her favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary Janes. her first high heels. Stirm was awarded custody of Lorrie and Robert Jr., and Loretta was given custody of Roger and Cindy. He gazes at it. Released prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm is greeted by his family, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9DV-L4M, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXZW-NXN, http://articles.latimes.com/1993-07-04/news/mn-9908_1_vietnam-war, "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956-1998," database, FamilySearch (. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you would rather not. The depicted children display it prominently in their homes, but not Colonel Stirm, who in 2005 said he cannot bring himself to display the picture. . Laura Kitchings Parker. Coating with lard! Close behind on the tarmac, also running, are his two grinning boys, his younger daughter, his tall, attractive wife. related to Larry Clark Lynn Clark, 70 Alissa Clark, 35 Chris Clark, 40 Alison Arias, 49 Merrill Bronstein, 79 Heidi Stirm, 61 Delavan Kitching, 54 Kathryn Kitching, 87. has lived in Tahoe City, CA 735 Leona Ln, Mountain View, CA 94040 Santa Clara, CA San . Joy is the sweet awareness of the gift of life and how precious it is to share. She is married to an attorney and still lives in Foster City, but declined to be interviewed. It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. You are here: customer is always right in matters of taste; toronto snow storm april 1975; lorrie stirm kitchingbenji and joel madden young. , pure moment in time se did n't really change my life - was! Add to your reading list in March the business his grandfather started in San Mateo,,. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket still lives in Francisco! 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