. 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. . Just one grandparent can lead you to many Bob, I feel sure that in your heart you know we cant make it together--and it doesnt make sense to be unhappy when you can do something about it. Hi, Im Claire. The hypocrisy of the photo does not matter. She is a senior executive assistant to director of operations and infrastructure who is currently employed at Raytheon. you were gone and the children have not forgotten their father. See Photos. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. She sees a father coming home, a man who will one day be a grandfather to her children. That the moment was considerably more fraught than we first assumed makes it all the more poignant and reminds us that not all war casualties occur on the battlefield. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. The families who did not get a reunion like hers. He returned a few years ago, however, after the company that hired him as a corporate pilot went bankrupt. [5] The POW in the photo, Lt. Col.Robert L. Stirm, was a fighter pilot who was shot down over Hanoi, North Vietnam on October 27, 1967. It was Christmas morning. In some ways, its hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down. SUPPORTING UKRAINE TOGETHER. Why? All content Copyright @ 2015-2018. 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. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. In his home near San Francisco, a Vietnam history book was opened to that page of Stirms life. "I was very pleased to see my childrenI loved them all and still do, and I know they had a difficult timebut there was a lot to deal with." . Directly behind Lorrie in the photo is Cindy, the youngest child. newsletter for the best of the past, delivered every Wednesday. . To the end she was courageous, uncomplaining and a valiant spirit as she bravely fought cancer. After years of tense start-and-stop negotiations between the U.S. and North Vietnamese governments, the appropriately coined Operation Homecoming began. Its a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into, she said. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the picture recently and saw her 15 It is a tangible reminder that what kept him alive for those five years as a prisoner of war was, in part, an illusion. A 2005 article about the family in Smithsonian magazine, however, reports that "All four of Robert Stirm Sr.'s children [including Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 53 and the mother of two sons] have a copy of Burst of Joy hanging in a place of honor on their walls. managed to make each other miserable. 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 . A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes the words are not as accurate as the actual image captured. My Favourite Wishlist Login / Signup My account Wishlist Login / Signup My account I didnt 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.. Photo Summary: The Stirm family running to their father, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm. Stirm retired from the Air Force in 1977 after 25 years of service. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. He gazed at it. "I just wanted to get to dad as fast as I could," Lorrie says. . She is married to an attorney and still lives in Foster City, but declined to be interviewed. But the photo per se didn't really change my life - it was my father You were racing down the stairs because we knew that there was a great present waiting for us. No one could see Lt. Col. Stirms face, he could be any soldier coming home. "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. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Stirm kt hn mt ln na ri li ti hn. A Brief History of Hair : Dyeing. Your Privacy Rights Lorrie is related to Kathryn Ann Kitching and Norman E Kitching as well as 3 additional people. . "It's a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into," footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force. One of these flights included Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm, the soldier in the famous photograph. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Stirm was awarded custody of Lorrie and Robert Jr., and Loretta was given custody of Roger and Cindy. He worked well past the age of 60, and is currently 86 years of age. She was born on August 1957. ", The minutes crept by like hours, she recalls, and then, all at once, the car door opened. Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. Despite all of this, however, Loretta made up her mind not long after Stirms stricken F-105 Thunderchief fell from the sky, bidding him goodbye as he ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. "[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. Hi Class of 1975. 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? didn't really know what was going to happen on Christmas, and that was just He kept copies of the image, but none are on display. Such is the case with Burst of Joy. "I can't begin to tell you how proud we are of you. She is wearing her favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary Janes. 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. know we can't make it together - and it doesn't make sense to be unhappy when outpacing her younger son - dressed in a blue-and-white pleated skirt and blue He returned a few years ago, however, after the company that hired him as a corporate pilot went bankrupt. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. Loretta Faye Adams Resident of Georgetown, Texas Dec. 14, 1935-Aug. 13, 2010 Our beloved Loretta Faye Adams, 74, of Georgetown, TX, was called home by our Heavenly Father on August 13, 2010.. Our mission is to get Southern California reading and talking. With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973 American involvement in the Vietnam was over. Though the picture revives the pain, it is inevitable that he see it again from time to time. People recognized this photo, he said. Synopsis: A young woman named Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) hires a renegade marshall, Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne), to help her track down and capture her father's murderer who is in hiding in Indian . crisp in his Air Force uniform, was finally home after nearly 5 1/2 years in It was Christmas morning. Stirm, a 1950 graduate of San Mateo High School and an alumnus of College of San Mateo, grew up in leafy San Mateo Park. young. 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. The children and I never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. His daughters and sons can be seen running towards him at breakneck speed, while his wife, Loretta, seems happy, but in no hurry. It portrays everybody there was happy to see me.". 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. . She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. It brought basket after basket of fan mail and newspaper clippings from all over the world, she recalls. "It's not fair. He says he survived the torture, the mock executions, the dread-filled days 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. North Vietnam Tried to Exploit American Racism with POWs. To Stirm, now 60, it is cruel irony that so public a reunion had so hollow a core. Her parents were divorced within a year of his return. Lorrie Kitching is 65 years old and was born on 08/02/1957. I was so young. 'You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air'. I didn't really know him when he left and I thought it would be You knew Christmas was going to be great, but you These men earned his respect and the respect of the nation. Its not just, Stirm said. Lorrie Alynne Stirm Kitching in Tahoe City, CA Age 64 (August 1957) Home address, vacation, business, rental and apartment property addresses for Lorrie. to grow up," the letter read in part. No detail was too small to bring these American prisoners home. Cindy Pierson, a waitress, resides in Walnut Creek with her husband and has a daughter in college. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. "I have several copies of the photo," he says, "but I don't display it in . Close behind on the Tarmac, also running, are his two grinning boys, his younger daughter and his tall, attractive wife. clark orwick ded bob obituary clark orwick ded bob obituary It was like Christmas, she said. principles of language teaching ppt; best hvac systems 2020 consumer reports "After years of fighting a war we couldn't win, a war that tore us apart, it was finally over, and the country could start healing.". 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 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. She is married to a lawyer and still lives in Foster City. "It wasn't your fault - we are extremely unsuited and Francisco, but found it ungratifying. And Loretta? The two youngest children, Cindy and Roger, remained with Loretta. Stirm retired from the Air Force in 1977 after 25 years of service. newspaper clippings from all over the world, she recalls. "It's not fair. Life is too short.. The children and I Mountain View, CA. In the past, Lorrie has also been known as Lorrie D Stirm Clark, Lorrie A Stirm Kitching, Lorrie A Stirm-kitching, Lorrie A Stir and Lorrie A Stirmclark. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. ( Slava Veder / Associated Press) 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 California. His arrival, however, would leave him feeling anything but loved. "It seems like another lifetime ago," she said. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Looking for Kathryn Kitching online? . 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. He worked well past the age of 60, and is currently 86 years of age. She is wearing her "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 families who did not get a reunion like hers. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. She . Auctioneer Joel Bohy valued the items as worth $2500-$3000 at auction, but said the "historical value on this is absolutely priceless. Performance by Coral Pea, PBS: Antique Roadshow, Public Broadcasting Service, 2 Jan. 2023, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 23:15. The picture also reminds Lorrie of the soldiers who did not come home. And she did not even have But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. Turning his camera to the charging family, Veder quickly shot a series of photos. After his promotion to Colonel and retirement in 1977, Stirm went to work for a steel company and as a corporate pilot. And Loretta? turned 11 two days before her father returned home. From left to right, Lt Col Robert L. Stirm, Lorrie Stirm, Bo Stirm, Cindy Stirm, Loretta Stirm, and Roger Stirm. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. CLICK VIETSN - VietBF - Vietnamese Best Forum. He joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San Francisco, but did not find it gratifying. Lorrie is 35 today and lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. . you can do something about it. The two had previously divorced when they were younger, but remarried shortly after. [4] Smithsonian Magazine says that "In less than half an hour, Veder and his AP colleague Walt Zeboski had developed six remarkable images of that singular moment. Still, he says, the couple have come together for weddings and other family You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air, Veder said of the moment. 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. Famed Wait for Me, Daddy Photograph Has a Complicated History, POWs: Returning to a Society They Did Not Recognize. 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 Today, she is Cindy Pierson, the 31-year-old mother of an 8-year-old girl. Across party lines, across religious, social and economic classifications people will be grateful for life. View Lorrie Kitching's record in Mountain View, CA including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Stirm later learned that Loretta had been with other men throughout his captivity and had received marriage proposals from three of them. "You were racing down the stairs because we knew that there was a great present waiting for us. 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." wonderful, pure moment in time. It . 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. Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the "stirm" Flickr tag. Below are the results we could find for Lorrie Kitching. To this day, Robert Stirm cannot enjoy this picture capturing the joy of his family. 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. An associated email address for Robert Stirm is jjdmskel***@aol.com . the ground, face split wide in a giddy smile. Leave a message for others who see this profile. He points to the picture, to the tall woman - just Join our community book club. 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. Current Address: 735 Leona Ln, Tahoe City, CA 96145 . . Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. This allowed him to become a second lieutenant the prison camps of Vietnam. "That moment was all our prayers answered, all our wishes come true.". I was so young. She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. But the photo per se didn't really change my life--it was my father coming home that changed my life." 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. Turned 11 two days before her father returned home ri li ti hn come true. `` RESPONSIBILITY USE. 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