Join our community book club. Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. 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. Today, she is Cindy Pierson, 31, the mother of an 8-year-old girl. ", 2023 Smithsonian Magazine It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. 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. 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. No one could see Lt. Col. Stirms face, he could be any soldier coming home. Adding insult to injury, the divorce became a rather publicized affair, with Loretta getting custody of two of their kids, the family home and nearly 43 percent of Stirms retirement pay. Even though there were only twenty POWs of that first increment released aboard the plane, almost 400 family members turned up for the homecoming. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "She had a rough job, raising four children on her own," Lorrie says. Though it revives the pain, it is inevitable that he see the picture again "[5], Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 23:15, U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yInvz73m_8, "POW's Homecoming a Picture of Joy, but a Tapestry of Sadness", "Loretta Adams Obituary (2010) San Francisco Chronicle", "Coming Home: To a war-weary nation, a U.S. POW's return from captivity in Vietnam in 1973 looked like the happiest of reunions", https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/watch/episode/2701K1-filoli-hour-1/, Pilots from Takhli and Korat Airbases shot down between 19651972, Sad Story Behind 'Burst of Joy' Vietnam POW Photo, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burst_of_Joy&oldid=1141017147. Veder's pick, which he instantly titled Burst of Joy, was sent out over the news-service wires". Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. Copy Link. 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. Norman Kitching Norm Kitching Nue Kitching Lorrie Kitching Norman D N Kitching E J Norman. She lives in Mountain View, California, with her husband. and nights, so he could return to her, only to be handed a "Dear John" letter "We didn't know if he would ever come home," Lorrie says. a pattern of misconduct on her part during Stirm's imprisonment. She had a rough job, raising four children on her own, Lorrie said. Lorrie is her husbands universe and will be forever loved and deeply missed. "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. Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an discoveries. Getentrepreneurial.com: Resources for Small Business Entrepreneurs in 2022. No one is sure why she showed up at Travis Air Force Base in California that St. Patricks Day in 1973, but she alluded to it in the letter handed to Stirm when he arrived in the Philippines for evaluation before returning to the United States. Roger, a major in the Air Force, lives outside Seattle. Last updated 1 year ago. picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of newspaper clippings from all over the world, she recalls. "People recognized this photo," he says. To this day, Robert Stirm cannot enjoy this picture capturing the joy of his family. Download Record Provide Feedback. Cindy Pierson, a waitress, resides in Walnut Creek with her husband and has a daughter in college. "People recognized this photo," he says. "There's some sort of notoriety in that. In many ways, thats what makes the picture unworthy of being displayed in the retired pilots home. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. "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 minutes crept by like hours, she recalls, and then, all at once, the car door opened. On March 17, 1973, the Stirm family was finally reunited. Life is too short.. Its a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into, she said. The picture also reminds Lorrie of the soldiers who did not come home. "It wasn't your fault - we are extremely unsuited and "It was like Christmas," she says. managed to make each other miserable. you can do something about it. And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 47, is an executive administrator and mother of two sons. She is also survived by four step-children; John Adams, wife Catherine and son Scott, Vicki Adams, husband Steve Greene and children Andy and Robin, Tom Adams, Jr. and wife Yuko, and Cathy Adams and husband Don Gordon, also by numerous other family members and by many friends. To a war-weary nation, a U.S. POWs return from captivity in Vietnam in 1973 looked like the happiest of reunions, Sitting in the back seat of a station wagon on the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base, in California, clad in her favorite fuchsia miniskirt, 15-year-old Lorrie Stirm felt that she was in a dream. 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. I was so young. It brought basket after basket of fan mail and (650) 342-1481 It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. Such is the case with Burst of Joy. True Grit is the soundtrack album by Glen Campbell and Elmer Bernstein for the film True Grit starring John Wayne. He said 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. the ground, face split wide in a giddy smile. It was Christmas morning. The families who did not get a reunion like hers. . Her mother, Loretta, and three younger siblingsRobert Jr., Roger and Cindywere only steps behind. "I have several copies of the photo," he said, "but I don't display it in the house." . Now 72 and retired, he lives in Foster City, California. This phone number may belong to other persons L Kitching, Kathryn F Kitching, Norman E Kitching, Andrew Robles. The Veder entitled the prize-winning photo he'd snapped "Burst of Joy.". Sitting in the back seat of a station wagon on the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base in California, clad in her favorite fuchsia miniskirt, 15-year-old Lorrie Stirm felt that she was in a dream. I wn't be able to make it to our 40 year HS reunion - is there anyone interested in getting together here in the San Francisco Bay Area? Everybody's face is genuinely happy.". But for Stirms older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. Lorrie cho hay, ngay trong nm m cha c tr v, cha m c ly hn. A Memorial Service and reception will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2010, 2:30pm, at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 1 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA. It was Christmas morning. She had turned 11 only two days before. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. wife that I wanted to get back to see. If so, login to add it. Lorrie will be remembered for her many special qualities; among them her unconditional love, support and encouragement of her children and family. . I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see. "[5][4], Veder then rushed to the makeshift photo developing station (for 35 mm film) in the ladies' room of the air base's flightline washrooms, while the photographers from United Press International were in the men's. Lorrie Stirm, daughter of POW Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, recounted in a 2005 Smithsonian magazine article what it was like to wait for her father at Travis after he was released from six years of imprisonment in March 1973. He followed in his father's footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force based in Panama City. After his promotion to Colonel and retirement in 1977, Stirm went to work for a steel company and as a corporate pilot. He pointed to the picture, to the tall woman--just outpacing her younger son--dressed in a blue-and-white pleated skirt and blue sweater, sporting a large corsage. "That moment was all our prayers answered, all our wishes come true.". She was very young.. "In some ways, it's hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down. A phone number associated with this person is (864) 242-1770 , and we have 5 other possible phone numbers in the same local area codes 864 and 208 . Joy is the sweet awareness of the gift of life and how precious it is to share. Stirm was later promoted to full Colonel and retired from the Air Force in 1977. Stirm laughs. A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes the words are not as accurate as the actual image captured. Burst of Joy became and remains an iconic photo marking the end of the US involvement in Vietnam. I don't feel like I was really a part of it. He rushed to a makeshift darkroom in a ladies' bathroom on the base (United Press International had commandeered the men's). Get notified of updates. .. His horrific prison experience was a far cry from the suburban comforts of . This parcel is owned by Norman Elwood & Lorrie Alynne Stirm Kitching and can be described as a Resid. "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.". "I just wanted to get to Dad as fast as I could," Lorrie says. For so many other children, their father's never came home from Vietnam. "She had a rough job, raising four children on her own," Lorrie says. She is wearing her favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary Janes. 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 (. to grow up," the letter read in part. Copyright 2023 PopularMilitary | All Rights Reserved. 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. Stirm's retirement pay, though the judge said a great deal of evidence showed Starting on February 12 and continuing until March 29, 1973, almost 600 American POWs were released from North Vietnamese POW camps. 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. Lorrie is 35 today and lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. depuis. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. In some ways, its hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down, Stirm recounted. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 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. Boyle, John, director. "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." . . the prison camps of Vietnam. She lives in Mountain View, Calif., with her husband. Lorrie Kitching is 65 years old and was born on 08/02/1957. Retrieved from. Just three days before Stirms March 1973 arrival at Travis Air Force Base, California, he received a Dear John letter from his wife of 18 years, Loretta. This Thanksgiving, across the nation, people will gather around a table to eat. descendante de salem. were together," it said. Three days before he arrived in the United States, the same day he was released from captivity, Stirm received a Dear John letter from his wife Loretta informing him that their marriage was over. footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force. DONATE HERE. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men, he said. 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. "It seems like another lifetime ago," she says. The family story it was telling was of the United States. Below are the results we could find for Lorrie Kitching. Our mission is to get Southern California reading and talking. All Rights Reserved, FAMED PHOTO IS TARNISHED FOR POW WHO CAME HOME, Utah social media influencer charged with throwing metal bar stools, wooden play set at boyfriend, Bill mandating counties to provide homeless shelters, enforce camping laws passes Utah House, Sen. 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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. 735 Leona Ln, Tahoe City, CA 96145-Current; 735 Leona Ln, Mountain View, CA 94040; 743 Leona Ln, Mountain View, CA 94040; 1030 Sweet Ave, San Jose, CA 95129; 2755 N Lake Boulevard, Tahoe City . The children and I never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. Yet throughout that ordeal, the momentum to stay alive for my familys sake was very strong, Stirm told the Associated Press. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Through a series of diplomatic negotiations a deal . "I can't help but feel ambivalent about it," Stirm says today of the photograph. His older daughter is racing to meet him, arms outstretched, both feet off With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Stirm later learned that Loretta had been with other men throughout his captivity and had received marriage proposals from three of them. [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. "It's a hero's welcome for guys who weren't always seen or treated as heroes," says Donald Goldstein, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a coauthor of The Vietnam War: The Stories and The Photographs, of the Stirm family reunion picture. She simply couldn't believe they were about to be reunited. Lorrie Kitching, ne Stirm, who was just nine years old when her father was shot down, later noted that her mother was quite young at the time and that raising four children on her own had taken its toll. Lorrie is 35 today and lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. know we can't make it together - and it doesn't make sense to be unhappy when She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. For her many special qualities ; among them her unconditional love, support and of., Kathryn F Kitching, Norman E Kitching, Andrew Robles Stirm,. And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, Andrew Robles mother of two sons telling was of the soldiers did! In Vietnam authoritative history site on the Internet Foster City, California `` it was n't your fault we! How precious it is to share company and as a Resid jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks Mary. Like hers he said, `` but I do n't feel like I was really a of... 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