. He says he survived the torture, the mock executions, the dread-filled days The joy of this reunion leaps out from the pages of history: Bob Stirm, crisp in his Air Force uniform, was finally home after nearly 5 1/2 years in the prison camps of Vietnam.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. . 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.' C'tait le 17 mars 1973 et cela faisait six longues annes qu'elle n'avait pas vu son pre, le lieutenant-colonel Robert L. Stirm, pilote de chasse de l'arme de l'air abattu Hanoi en 1967, disparu ou emprisonn. discoveries. Looking for Kathryn Kitching online? He says he survived the torture, the mock executions, the dread-filled days and nights, so he could return to her, only to be handed a "Dear John" letter by a chaplain upon his release. [3], USAF Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Stirm made a speech[4] "on behalf of himself and other POWs who had arrived from Vietnam as part of Operation Homecoming. Joy is the sweet awareness of the gift of life and how precious it is to share. It's not just," Stirm said. Theres some sort of notoriety in that. How do you learn to discover joy even in the midst of sadness? However, a time is coming and may even be here when our eyes move away from the pain to see joy. When has your joy been interrupted with sadness or pain? you were gone and the children have not forgotten their father. In the photo, he is 14, partially blocked by Lorrie, a broad smile on his face. Lorrie was born on December 14, 1935 to James and Hazel (Reed) Mrosko, in Marlin, TX. Lorrie Kitching Senior Executive Assistant to Director of Operations and Infrastructure at Raytheon San Francisco Bay Area 115 followers 113 connections Join to connect Raytheon College of San. 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. And Loretta? que faire pendant la nuit du destin; lorrie stirm kitching. She lived a lie. His older daughter is racing to meet him, arms outstretched, both feet off the ground, face split wide in a giddy smile. On March 17, the plane landed at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California. Hoi Linh Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. It portrays everybody there as happy She lived a lie. With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973 American involvement in the Vietnam was over. Lorrie is 35 today and lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. The children and I never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. I didn't really know him when he left and I thought it would be wonderful to have a dad because all my friends had dads at their functions." Stirm, 39, who had endured gunshot wounds, torture, illness, starvation and despair in North Vietnamese prison camps, including the infamous Hanoi Hilton, is pictured in a crisp new uniform. "She was very young.". Mountain View, CA. Everybody's face is genuinely happy." She lives in Mountain View, California, with her husband. . wonderful, pure moment in time. . . Lorrie says, "So much had happenedthere was so much that my dad missed out onand it took a while to let him back into our lives and accept his authority." After six long years, POW Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm was once again able to hug his 15-year-old daughter Lorrie Stirm, along with his other three children and his wife. . It brought a lot of notoriety and publicity to me and, unfortunately, the legal situation that I was going to be faced with, and it was kind of unwelcomed, Stirm said of the photo. You knew Christmas was going to be great, but you didnt really know what was going to happen on Christmas, and that was just like when Dad came home. In 1974, the Stirms divorced and Loretta remarried, but Lieutenant Colonel Stirm was still ordered by the courts to provide her with 43% of his military retirement pay once he retired from the Air Force. "You were racing down the stairs because we knew that there was a great present waiting for us. He followed in his father's footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force based in Panama City. "People recognized this photo," he says. It was Christmas morning. But the photo per se didnt really change my life--it was my father coming home that changed my life.. Stirm was shot down over Hanoi on October 27, 1967, while leading a flight of F-105s on a bombing mission, and not released until March 14, 1973. She lived a lie. But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. 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. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. . But there was more to the story than was captured on film. It never would have gone away in my mind, but seeing that photo brings it all back again just all the joy that was there.. Last updated 1 year ago. I have your anti emmeleur feeder. centre mdical europe dermatologue You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air, Veder said of the moment. "It brought a lot of notoriety and publicity to me and, unfortunately, the legal situation that I was going to be faced with, and it was kind of unwelcomed," Stirm says of the photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Sal Veder. . Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. The war which tore a nation in two was coming to an end. "It seems like another lifetime ago," she says. This property has an improvement value of $184,374. Because his back is to the camera, as Veder points out, the officer seems anonymous, an everyman who represented not only the hundreds of POW's released that spring but all the troops in Vietnam who would return home to the mothers, fathers, wives, daughters and sons they'd left behind. Stirm laughs. It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. Sign up for service and obituary updates. Join our community book club. She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. After his promotion to Colonel and retirement in 1977, Stirm went to work for a steel company and as a corporate pilot. Robert's flight, as part of Operation Homecoming, brought 20 POWs back . "I look at the picture, and I don't see me. the woman in the famous black-and-white photo - his former wife, Loretta - "I can't help but feel ambivalent about it," Stirm says today of the photograph. "It wasn't your fault - we are extremely unsuited and managed to make each other miserable. "It's not fair. This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men. It wasnt your fault--we are extremely unsuited and managed to make each other miserable. Stirm's retirement pay, though the judge said a great deal of evidence showed Stirm's anger and bitterness these two decades later seem directed more at Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an He gazes at it. "People recognized this photo," he says. 2755 N LAKE BLVD 60 contains 957 square feet of living area and was built in 1972. "She had a rough job, raising four children on her own," Lorrie says. had four neat children," he says quietly, "and what I believed to be a neat The families who did not get a reunion like hers. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. CLICK VIETSN - VietBF - Vietnamese Best Forum. I have your pictures up and your certificates and have kept you very much with us while you were gone and the children have not forgotten their father. And she did not even have the honor and integrity to be honest with the kids. He worked well past the age of 60, and is currently 86 years of age. running, are his two grinning boys; his younger daughter; his tall, attractive He married and was divorced again. with all the aches and pains from my imprisonment, but she continues to get Directly behind Lorrie in the photo is Cindy, the youngest child. Such was the unfortunate case for Bob Stirn, a Vietnam veteran whose return from being a POW for over half a decade was captured in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, Burst of Joy.. Toggle navigation. Stirm was imprisoned in North Vietnam for . principles of language teaching ppt; best hvac systems 2020 consumer reports "I love you - we all love you, but you must remember how very unhappy we Even though there were only twenty POWs of that first increment released aboard the plane, almost 400 family members turned up for the homecoming. "I have changed drastically - forced into a situation where I finally had to grow up," the letter read in part. Hi, Im Claire. "I have several copies of the photo," he said, "but I don't display it in the house." She lives in Mountain View, California, with her husband. [5], Lorrie Stirm appeared on Antiques Roadshow Season 27 Episode 1 on January 2, 2023 seeking an appraisal for an archive of items relating to the event: Lorrie's personal print of the famous photograph (signed by the photographer in 1990), Lt. Col. Stirm's prison uniform, Red Cross luggage with North Vietnamese tag, a spoon engraved Lt. Col. Stirm with a thunderbolt during his imprisonment and a pair of sandals the North Vietnamese claimed were made from the wheels of Stirm's crashed plane. The photo itself is iconic: A seemingly anonymous POWs back is to the camera as his gleeful family runs pell-mell toward him. coming home that changed my life.". What is your Burst of Joy moment, a time you felt overwhelming joy? History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force. "In some ways, it's hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down. For 24-hours, the nation will slow down and be thankful. In the photo, he is 14, partially blocked by Lorrie, a broad smile on his face. It's not just," Stirm says today. . . Home; Blog; Nosotros; Contacto; Nuestros Clientes; Copia de Home V2; lorrie stirm kitching WATCH FREE 981 VIET CHANNELS APP & WATCH LIVE 989 CHANNELS TV:: VIET CHANNELS is a Vietnamese American Broadcasting Network featuring World, US, Asia and Vietnamese News.RATES & VIET CHANNEL TV APP She simply couldn't believe they were about to be reunited. Starting on February 12 and continuing until March 29, 1973, almost 600 American POWs were released from North Vietnamese POW camps. Life is too short.". Advertising Notice I don't feel like I was really a part of it. And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 47, is an executive administrator and mother of two sons. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. Stirm's anger and bitterness these two decades later seem directed more at the woman in the famous black-and-white photo - his former wife, Loretta - than at the Vietnamese captors who tortured him. It seems like another lifetime ago, she said. what is a voter acknowledgement card nj. In some ways, its hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down, he told the LA Times. I didn't really know him when he left and I thought it would be The story behind the famous photo of a family's reunion after a father, a POW, returns from Vietnam is significantly less joyous than the imagery implies. 'You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air'. By Hannah Ross, October 1, 2015. . Here are 10 you cant miss. Photo Summary: The Stirm family running to their father, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm. Today, she is Cindy Pierson, the 31-year-old mother of an 8-year-old girl. You were racing down the stairs because we knew that there was a great present waiting for us. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the picture recently and saw her 15 1/2-year-old self about to leap into her father's arms, her airborne feet shod in her first pair of high heels. She is wearing her favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary Janes. But the photo per se didn't really change my life - it was my father Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. She was born on August 1957. [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. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. "[11], About the picture and its legacy, Lorrie Stirm Kitching once noted, "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 todaymany, many familiesand I think, I'm one of the lucky ones. She sees a father coming home, a man who will one day be a grandfather to her children. Zip code 94040 (Mountain View) average rent price for two bedrooms is . It captures the heart of America in raw form. FOSTER CITY, Calif. His older daughter is racing to meet him, arms outstretched, both feet off the ground, face split wide in a giddy smile. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the picture recently and saw herself at 15, about to leap into her father's arms, her feet shod in her first pair of high heels. . the ground, face split wide in a giddy smile. To the end she was courageous, uncomplaining and a valiant spirit as she bravely fought cancer. marriage within a year or so after I was shot down. The photograph Burst of Joy. know we can't make it together - and it doesn't make sense to be unhappy when It remains the quintessential homecoming photograph of the time. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. Your Privacy Rights Bob and Loretta met at a party just after he graduated from Air Force cadet school in Texas; they were married in February 1955 when she was 19. . 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 . . Among the POW ranks were Floyd Thompson, who was shot down in 1963 and retained the undesirable title of the wars longest-held prisoner; John McCain, the late senator and former presidential candidate; and former Sen. Jeremiah Denton Jr., who famously blinked out the letters T-O-R-T-U-R-E, in Morse code, while being interviewed for a propaganda film, according to Vietnam magazines Rick Fredericksen. the house.". Still, he said, the couple have come together for weddings and other family events, and all four children are on good terms with both parents. She lived a lie. Let others know about your loved one's death. Burst of Joy. All content Copyright @ 2015-2018. "I can't begin to tell you how proud we are of you. from time to time. DATE OF BIRTH: March 23, 1933 PLACE OF BIRTH: San Mateo, California HOME OF RECORD: San Mateo, California Robert Stirm was interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam after he was shot down on. However, one can only fathom what exclusive and vile corner of Hell awaits those who cheat on spouses held in captivity by an enemy during wartime. "You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air," says Veder, then 46, who had spent much of the Vietnam era covering antiwar demonstrations in San Francisco and Berkeley. Retrieved from. Our beloved Loretta Faye Adams, 74, of Georgetown, TX, was called home by our Heavenly Father on August 13, 2010. I have several copies of the photo, he said, but I dont display it in the house.. Close behind on the tarmac, also The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. After years of tense start-and-stop negotiations between the U.S. and North Vietnamese governments, the appropriately coined Operation Homecoming began. 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"[5], Smithsonian Magazine says that "Veder, who'd been standing in a crowded bullpen with dozens of other journalists, noticed the sprinting family and started taking pictures. "I'm the one that lives with all the aches and pains from my imprisonment, but she continues to get paid.". And Loretta? She had turned 11 only two days before. It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me." They have also lived in Los Altos, CA and Foster City, CA. No one is sure why she showed up at Travis Air Force Base in California She had But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. Bob and Loretta met at a party just after he graduated from Air Force cadet school in Texas; they were married in February, 1955, when she was 19. View profile Edit profile Lorrie Stirm Kitching. Bob and Loretta met at a party just after he graduated from Air Force cadet 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. I have your pictures up and your certificates and have kept you very much with us while you were gone and the children have not forgotten their father. Stirm's oldest daughter Lorrie, the then fifteen-year-old girl running towards her father with her arms outstretched, still holds close memories of the photo. The Veder entitled the prize-winning photo he'd snapped "Burst of Joy." But Stirm's homecoming was. Everybody's face is genuinely happy.". As Stirm descended from the plane onto the tarmac, there was Loretta. Boyle, John, director. They divorced a year after Stirm returned from Vietnam, and each remarried within six months. Joy is the sweet awareness of the gift of life and how precious it is to share. declined to be interviewed. 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