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. "I love you - we all love you, but you must remember how very unhappy we were together," it said. The war which could not be won was over. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 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. She works in the sales department of MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. And Loretta? It portrays everybody there as happy after the company that hired him as a corporate pilot went bankrupt. 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. 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. 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. Stirm retired from the Air Force in 1977 after 25 years of service. It brought basket after basket of fan mail and newspaper clippings from all over the world, she recalls. The children and I the house.". Thats a strong incentive.. 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. My Favourite Wishlist Login / Signup My account Wishlist Login / Signup My account . "People recognized this photo," he said. Its not fair. "There's some sort of notoriety in that. . This Because of her.. 'You could feel the energy and the raw emotion in the air'. [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. 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.. "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. "I have several copies of the photo," he said, "but I don't display it in the house." . Your Privacy Rights Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. 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. Bob and Loretta met at a party just after he graduated from Air Force cadet "It wasn't your fault - we are extremely unsuited and She had turned 11 only two days before. I don't feel like I was really a part of it. Stirm laughed. 2755 N LAKE BLVD 60 contains 957 square feet of living area and was built in 1972. Directly behind Lorrie in the photo is Cindy, the youngest child. "I look at the picture, and Have you taken a DNA test? [5] Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. Stirm laughs. Lorrie is survived by her husband; Thomas B. Adams, children; Lorrie Kitching (Norm), Robert Stirm, Roger Stirm (Nevert), Cindy Pierson (Steve), loving grandchildren, siblings; Janis. George Washington had complained vociferously about the flood of questionable foreign volunteers. To Stirm, now 60, it is cruel irony that so public a reunion had so hollow a core. Today, she is Cindy Pierson, the 31-year-old mother of an 8-year-old girl. "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. Her parents were divorced within a year of his return. He joined Ferry Steel Products, the business his grandfather started in San Francisco, but did not find it gratifying. The actual story behind the photo, however, was significantly less joyous than the title implied. Lorrie Alynne Stirm Kitching Rd. This site is owned and operated by Bright Mountain Media, Inc., a publicly owned company trading with the symbol. I love you--we all love you, but you must remember how very unhappy we were together, it said. 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. In his home near San Francisco, a Vietnam history book was opened to that page of Stirm's life. favorite dress, a black jumper with a lacy pinafore, knee socks and Mary It brought basket after basket of fan mail and Lorrie A S Kitching, Age 64 Remove Record. Current Address: 735 Leona Ln, Tahoe City, CA 96145 . And Loretta? It was Christmas morning. Building and using wood fired ovens, recipes, pizza, DIY, and forums But he says he can't bring himself to display the picture." The photograph Burst of Joy. Turning his camera to the charging family, Veder quickly shot a series of photos. An associated email address for Robert Stirm is jjdmskel***@aol.com . 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 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." "It seems like another lifetime ago," she says. I dont feel like I was really a part of it. . Starting on February 12 and continuing until March 29, 1973, almost 600 American POWs were released from North Vietnamese POW camps. with all the aches and pains from my imprisonment, but she continues to get that St. Patrick's Day in 1973, but she alluded to it in the letter handed to The picture also reminds Lorrie of the soldiers who did not come home. . Though the picture revives the pain, it is inevitable that he see it again from time to time. 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. 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. General Contractor/Owner at General Contractor/Owner. "I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you She lived a lie. Comments. Twenty years later, the picture is very different. "I have changed drastically - forced into a situation where I finally had to grow up," the letter read in part. View profile Edit profile Lorrie Stirm Kitching. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. In his home near San Francisco, a Vietnam history book is opened to that page of Stirm's life. 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 (. Life is too short.. MediaSourcery, marketers of multimedia software. It brought basket after basket of fan mail and newspaper clippings from all over the. But for Stirm, there will always be the picture. All content Copyright @ 2015-2018. In some ways, its hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down. most public of moments symbolizes the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam He followed in his father's Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. 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. Joy is the sweet awareness of the gift of life and how precious it is to share. When has your joy been interrupted with sadness or pain? Lorrie is 35 today and lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. Lorrie is survived by her husband, Thomas B. Adams; children, Lorrie Kitching and husband Norm, Robert Stirm, Roger Stirm and wife Nevert, Cindy Pierson and husband Steve; loving grandchildren, Christopher Clark, Jessica Pierson, Nicholas, Ryan, Cody and Sommer Stirm, Norman Kitching IV, Ralph, Irene and Rhoda Minderhoud; and one great-grandchild on the way; siblings, Janis Davis and husband Roland Damari, Joan Tulloch, Joe Garrett and wife Dawn, Doug Garrett; and her very special aunt and uncle, Joyce Parrott, and Lee H. Reed, Jr., and wife Martha. She also received the family home and 42.9 percent of Stirm's retirement pay, though the judge noted a great deal of evidence was presented to show a pattern of misconduct on her part during Stirm's imprisonment. These men earned his respect and the respect of the nation. Burst of Joy is not an image of the Stirm family. And Lorrie Stirm Kitching, now 47, is an executive administrator and mother of two sons. I don't feel like I was really a part of it. . It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.. She sees a father coming home, a man who will one day be a grandfather to her children. Laura Kitchings Parker. Last updated 1 year ago. 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 laughs. And while all four children have Burst of Joy hanging in their homes, its more complicated and bittersweet for Stirm. See the links below for more info. The two youngest children, Cindy and Roger, remained with Loretta. was very young.". And Loretta? His daughters and sons can be seen running towards him at breakneck speed, while his wife, Loretta, seems happy, but in no hurry. 2019 Bright Mountain Media, Inc. All rights reserved. I was so young. by a chaplain upon his release. 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 . The Pulitzer Prize-winning picture that captured that very personal, yet ". 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. you can do something about it. . The picture also reminds Lorrie of the soldiers who did not come home. 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. I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you would rather not.. the prison camps of Vietnam. Burst of Joy is not an image of the Stirm family. you were gone and the children have not forgotten their father. Roger, 12 at the time, trails everyone, wearing a ski jacket. 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. The children and I never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. 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. I moved to Tampa in Sept 1974 and attended Chamberlain High for my senior year only. But for Stirm, there will always be the picture. Stirm when he arrived in the Philippines before returning to the United "I have several copies of the photo," he says, "but I don't display it in 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. Close behind on the tarmac, also running, are his two grinning boys, his younger daughter, his tall, attractive wife. 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 was so Stirm was shot down over Hanoi on October 27, 1967, while leading a flight of F-105s on a bombing mission, and was not released until March 14, 1973. "It's a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into," she says. Our beloved Loretta Faye Adams, 74, of Georgetown, TX, was called home by our Heavenly Father on August 13, 2010. 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. ", The minutes crept by like hours, she recalls, and then, all at once, the car door opened. "It's not fair. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. 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. (650) 342-1481 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. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. . Sign up for service and obituary updates. 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. 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 was awarded custody of Lorrie and Robert Jr., and Loretta was given custody of Roger and Cindy. Lorrie, 35, lives in San Mateo, Calif., with her second husband and an If so, login to add it. Veders photograph came to represent those American POWs who were, at long last, free. Run Background Search. On October 27, 1967, Stirm was shot down over Hanoi while leading a flight of F-105s on a bombing mission, and was not released until March 14, 1973. principles of language teaching ppt; best hvac systems 2020 consumer reports 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." The matter was not lost on the judge, who had noted Lorettas infidelity while Stirm was enduring torture, isolation and fake executions. Twenty years later, the picture is very different. A kprl Robert nagyobbik lnya, Lorrie Stirm Kitching Butler 2005-s cikkben megjegyezte, Ez egy nagyon kedves kpnk egy nagyon boldog percnkrl, de mindig, amikor rnzek, eszembe jutnak azok a csaldok, amelyek nem egyesltek jra s azok, amelyek nem tudtak a mai napig sem jraegyeslni - sok-sok csald - s n . 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