'You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air'. "Bob, I feel sure that in your heart you +91-9879950702 Monday - Friday 10:00 - 7:30 Rakhiyal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat . . And even though some us stand at a distance, we are the children running to embrace a loved one returning home. You can view 1 entry, complete with personal details, location history, phone numbers, relatives and locations for Lorrie Kitching. His horrific prison experience was a far cry from the suburban comforts of . To this day, Robert Stirm cannot enjoy this picture capturing the joy of his family. 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. picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of But for Stirm, there will always be the picture. It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. Stirm was awarded custody of Lorrie and Robert Jr., and Loretta was given custody of Roger and Cindy. It wasnt your fault--we are extremely unsuited and managed to make each other miserable. He points to the picture, to the tall woman - just Burst of Joy is not an image of the Stirm family. Three days before this picture was taken, Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, the soldier in the picture, received a Dear John letter from his wife, Loretta. . 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. 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. 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. "It's a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into," she said. To Stirm, 60, it is cruel irony that so public a reunion had so hollow a Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in Concord, Calif. His sister, Cindy, is his office manager. Robert Stirm Jr. is 34 now, the father of three sons and a dentist in But the photo per se didn't really change my life - it was my father a pattern of misconduct on her part during Stirm's imprisonment. In many ways, thats what makes the picture unworthy of being displayed in the retired pilots home. joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San The Veder entitled the prize-winning photo he'd snapped "Burst of Joy.". But he says he can't bring himself to display the picture. Stirm's retirement pay, though the judge said a great deal of evidence showed Lives in Waynesboro, Georgia. que faire pendant la nuit du destin; lorrie stirm kitching. She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. I don't feel like I was really a part of it. Coating with lard! the woman in the famous black-and-white photo - his former wife, Loretta - 1/2-year-old self about to leap into her father's arms, her airborne feet in Its not fair. In less than half an hour, Veder and his AP colleague Walt Zeboski had developed six remarkable images of that singular moment. Burst of Joy is not an image of the Stirm family. I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you would rather not.. stairs because we knew that there was a great present waiting for us. Loretta Stirm remarried in 1974 and moved to Texas with her new husband. Stirm was imprisoned in North Vietnam for . She sees a father coming home, a man who will one day be a grandfather to her children. 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. paid.". 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.' And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 47, is an executive administrator and mother of two sons. . "You knew Christmas was going to be great, but you didn't really know what was going to happen on Christmas, and that was just like when Dad came home. Today, she is Cindy Pierson, the 31-year-old mother of an 8-year-old girl. "I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you He joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San Francisco, but did not find it gratifying. 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. The children and I never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see. All four of Robert Stirm Sr.'s children have a. The families who did not get a reunion like hers. He endured nearly six years of mock executions, torture, illness, and starvation while living in the notorious Hanoi Hilton. 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. 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. Lorrie Alynne Stirm Kitching Rd. . What some women through the years have done--and will do--for a do. Stirm retired from the Air Force in 1977 after 25 years of service. "It's not fair. But for Stirm's older daughter, Lorrie Kitching, the photo captures a wonderful, pure moment in time. Lorrie is related to Kathryn Ann Kitching and Norman E Kitching as well as 3 additional people. He joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San Francisco, but found it ungratifying. 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. 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. Mike Lee to Japan on failure to return imprisoned U.S. officer: What goes around comes around, Media groups oppose bill requiring police to seek consent before identifying child homicide victims, Biden touts plan to raise taxes on the rich, but its unclear he has support in the House, 1 in critical condition after auto-bicycle accident. Retrieved from. They divorced a year after Stirm returned from Vietnam, and each remarried within six months. .. [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." I have several copies of the photo, he said in 1993, but I dont display it in the house. she says. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. Have you taken a DNA test? footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force. And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 47, is an executive administrator and mother of two sons. "She I was so young. Twenty years later, the picture is very different. Lorrie is 35 today and lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. This allowed him to become a second lieutenant 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. Mountain View, CA. The photo is in the house of every member of the family, except Stirm. "We have this very nice picture of a very happy moment," Lorrie says, "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. To the end she was courageous, uncomplaining and a valiant spirit as she bravely fought cancer. Copyright 2023 PopularMilitary | All Rights Reserved. Stirm laughed. "It's a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into," North Vietnam Tried to Exploit American Racism with POWs. He gazes at it. 105/31 5 tumi , tumi 232682navy alpha , 25%off5 tumi , 105/31 5 tumi , tumi . "I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you would rather not. I cant begin to tell you how proud we are of you. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. "There's some sort of notoriety in that. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Im the one that lives with all the aches and pains from my imprisonment, but she continues to get paid.. WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. He followed in his fathers footsteps; he is a captain in the Air Force based in Panama City. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. young. 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. She had 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. It portrays everybody there was happy to see me.". IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. 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. "She had a rough job, raising four children on her own," Lorrie says. This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men. "People recognized this photo," he said. It seems like another lifetime ago, she said. events, and all four children are on good terms with both parents. "It was like Christmas," she said. 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.' 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. Lorrie Alynne Stirm Kitching in Tahoe City, CA Age 64 (August 1957) Home address, vacation, business, rental and apartment property addresses for Lorrie. "[7], Despite outward appearances, the reunion was an unhappy one for Stirm. In every home there is something broken; a dream unfulfilled, a relationship torn apart or a heart broken. I have your the honor and integrity to be honest with the kids. that St. Patrick's Day in 1973, but she alluded to it in the letter handed to And she did not even have I don't feel like I was really a part of it. May 17, 2017. 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. He gazed at it. Our mission is to get Southern California reading and talking. She lived a lie. 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. What is your Burst of Joy moment, a time you felt overwhelming joy? 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. 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. 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. "I look at the picture, and I don't see me. As Stirm descended from the plane onto the tarmac, there was Loretta. "People recognized this photo," he says. 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. The pair divorced within a year, with Lorrie and her brother Robert Jr. living with Stirm. Everybody's face is genuinely happy.". 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