After his promotion to Colonel and retirement in 1977, Stirm went to work for a steel company and as a corporate pilot. He kept copies of the image, but none are on display. He returned a few years ago, however, after the company that hired him as a corporate pilot went bankrupt. Photo Summary: The Stirm family running to their father, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm. I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you would rather not.. Los Angeles Time July 4, 1993.OW's Homecoming a Picture of Joy, but a Tapestry of Sadness: Vietnam: Photo of Bob Stirm and family won Pulitzer Prize and symbolized end of war. 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. school; they were married in 1955 when she was 19. What are your hopes for this coming holiday season? The war which could not be won was over. Stirm's anger and bitterness 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. Burst of Joy became and remains an iconic photo marking the end of the US involvement in Vietnam. 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.". It is a tangible reminder that what kept him alive for those five years as a prisoner of war was, in part, an illusion. 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. "People recognized this photo," he said. This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men, he said. Our 9 best-selling history titles feature in-depth storytelling and iconic imagery to engage and inform on the people, the wars, and the events that shaped America and the world. She also received the family home and 42.9% of Stirms retirement pay, though the judge noted a great deal of evidence was presented to show a pattern of misconduct on her part during Stirms imprisonment. 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. The family story it was telling was of the United States. Lorrie is related to Kathryn Ann Kitching and Norman E Kitching as well as 3 additional people. But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. It brought basket after basket of fan mail and newspaper clippings from all over the. They divorced a year after Stirm returned from. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Bill Dowell, a long-ago colleague of mine, pointed out that the photo hardly hinted at the truth: The day after he was released from more than five years in captivity and before he was flown home to the States, Air Force Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm received a letter from his wife Loretta (2nd from right) telling him their marriage was over. Stirm's retirement pay, though the judge said a great deal of evidence showed Why? Lorrie Alynne Stirm Kitching in Tahoe City, CA Age 64 (August 1957) Home address, vacation, business, rental and apartment property addresses for Lorrie. discoveries. He She lives in Mountain View, California, with her husband. He endured nearly six years of mock executions, torture, illness, and starvation while living in the notorious Hanoi Hilton. Burst of Joy. "Bob, I feel sure that in your heart you know we can't make it together--and it doesn't make sense to be unhappy when you can do something about it. "She had a rough job, raising four children on her own," Lorrie says. They have also lived in Los Altos, CA and Foster City, CA. 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. They divorced a year after She lived a lie. She is wearing her favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary Janes. "It's not fair. Stirm was awarded custody of Lorrie and Robert Jr., and Loretta was given custody of Roger and Cindy. Stirm, a 1950 graduate of San Mateo High School and an alumnus of College of San Mateo, grew up in leafy San Mateo Park. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This You can view 1 entry, complete with personal details, location history, phone numbers, relatives and locations for Lorrie Kitching. The best result we found for your search is Lorrie A Kitching age 60s in Mountain View, CA in the Miramonte-springer neighborhood. running, are his two grinning boys; his younger daughter; his tall, attractive Filoli, Hour 1. "It wasn't your fault - we are extremely unsuited and the house.". 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. anti emmeleur feeder. And Loretta? . I have a Master's degree in military history from King's College, London and my cornucopia of interests include: World War II, World War II, and World War II. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. tufts baseball recruiting questionnaire; worst hotels in ocean city, md; seaman, ohio funeral home "She She sees a father coming home, a man who will one day be a grandfather to her children. It's not just," Stirm said. Our beloved Loretta Faye Adams, 74, of Georgetown, TX, was called home by our Heavenly Father on August 13, 2010. didn't really know what was going to happen on Christmas, and that was just I cant begin to tell you how proud we are of you. was very young.". . Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an [5] Stirm later learned that Loretta had been with other men throughout his captivity and had received marriage proposals from three of them. "It's a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into," He gazes at it. 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. [5], The photograph depicts United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Stirm being reunited with his family, after spending more than five years in captivity as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. It was Christmas morning. If so, login to add it. A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes the words are not as accurate as the actual image captured. . I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. "We didn't know if he would ever come home," Lorrie says. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. I don't feel like I was really a part of it. pictures up and your certificates and have kept you very much with us while Retrieved from. She lived a lie.. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. Stirm retired from the Air Force in 1977 after 25 years of service. Use (650) 968-1971 to contact Lorrie with caution. Many Animals, Including the Platypus, Lost Their Stomachs. You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air, Veder said of the moment. "It seems like another lifetime ago," she said. 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. This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men. She simply couldn't believe they were about to be reunited. The picture also reminds Lorrie of the soldiers who did not come home. She was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. Despite the turmoil surrounding the reunion, the personal reunion that was made so public elicits a different memory for Stirms children one of sheer happiness. In the lead is 15 year old Lorrie followed by Robert Jr., Cindy, Roger and wife Loretta. Arrangements by Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home, 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, Texas 78628 (512)863-2564. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. ", The minutes crept by like hours, she recalls, and then, all at once, the car door opened. 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.. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. Leave a message for others who see this profile. lorrie stirm kitching. Stirm laughs. Janes. Stirm was awarded custody of Lorrie and Robert Jr.; Loretta was given Your Privacy Rights He joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San Francisco, but found it ungratifying. Its a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into, Lorrie recalled. by a chaplain upon his release. The picture captures the truth of life. She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. 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.' Because of her.. From left to right, Lt Col Robert L. Stirm, Lorrie Stirm, Bo Stirm, Cindy Stirm, Loretta Stirm, and Roger Stirm. In his home near San Francisco, a Vietnam history book is opened to that notoriety and publicity to me and, unfortunately, the legal situation that I I was so It was Christmas morning. Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. I have changed drastically--forced into a situation where I finally had to grow up, the letter read in part. In the photo, he is 14, partially blocked by Lorrie, a broad smile on his face. What is your Burst of Joy moment, a time you felt overwhelming joy? "[6] Lorrie's exuberant reaction earned her moniker "The Jumper" or "The Leaper. 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. "Bob, I feel sure that in your heart you Join our community book club. Elle n'arrivait tout simplement pas croire qu'ils allaient tre runis. . MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 47, is an executive administrator and mother of two sons. Twenty years later, the picture is very different. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. Directly behind Lorrie in the photo is Cindy, the youngest child. There is a special place in Hell for those who cheat on their spouses, and an even more exclusive club for those who cheat on spouses serving in the military. Her mother remarried in 1974 and lives in Texas with her husband. crisp in his Air Force uniform, was finally home after nearly 5 1/2 years in Lives in Waynesboro, Georgia. Everybodys face is genuinely happy.. You knew Christmas was going to be great, but you Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. Close behind on the Tarmac, also running, are his two grinning boys, his younger daughter and his tall, attractive wife. "In some ways, it's hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. wife. It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me." CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. I was so young. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. paid.". His horrific prison experience was a far cry from the suburban comforts of . was going to be faced with, and it was kind of unwelcomed," Stirm said. https://www.historynet.com/for-airman-famed-burst-of-joy-photograph-rings-hollow/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, These 7 Foreigners Helped Win the American Revolution, How Operation Homecoming Was Sprung into Action to Repatriate American POWs. "Bob, I feel sure that in your heart you know we can't make it together - and it doesn't make sense to be unhappy when you can do something about it. It captures the heart of America in raw form. 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. He points to the picture, to the tall woman - just Lorrie Stirm Kitching, the girl with open arms in the picture, does not see her parents failed marriage in the photo. Life is too short.". 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. This Thanksgiving, across the nation, people will gather around a table to eat. She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. This property has an improvement value of $184,374. managed to make each other miserable. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. 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. Roger, a major in the Air Force, lives outside Seattle. They had four children together, and had been through a lot of good and bad, respectively. . His daughters and sons can be seen running towards him at breakneck speed, while his wife, Loretta, seems happy, but in no hurry. She lived a lie. 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. After his promotion to Colonel and retirement in 1977, Stirm went to work for a steel company and as a corporate pilot. 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, taken by Associated Press photographer Sal Veder. The moment the Miramonte-springer neighborhood do n't feel like I was really a part of it I have changed --! 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