What happened to lt Col Robert l Stirm?
What happened to lt Col Robert l Stirm?
Robert retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1977 and worked as a corporate pilot and businessman. He married and was divorced again. Now 72 and retired, he lives in Foster City, California.
Who was Robert Stirm?
Col. Robert L. Stirm, was a fighter pilot who was shot down over Hanoi, North Vietnam, on October 27, 1967. He would go on to endure nearly six years of mock executions, torture, illness, and starvation while living in the notorious Hanoi Hilton.
Did Robert Stirm remarry?
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. They divorced a year after Stirm returned from Vietnam, and each remarried within six months.
What did Sal Veder photograph at Travis Air Force Base in 1973?
Burst of Joy
Col. Robert L. Stirm is reunited with his family at Travis AFB, March 13, 1973. Burst of Joy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Associated Press photographer Slava “Sal” Veder.
When was burst of joy taken?
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.
How were American soldiers tortured in Vietnam?
Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, which demanded “decent and humane treatment” of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as waterboarding, strappado (known as “the ropes” to POWs), irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement.
Why is burst of joy famous?
The photograph came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and the prevailing sentiment that military personnel and their families could begin a process of healing after enduring the horrors of war.
Who was Lt Col Stirm and what did he do?
Lt Col Robert L. Stirm, USAF made a speech, “on behalf of himself and other POW’s who had arrived from Vietnam as part of Operation Homecoming .” Smithsonian Magazine says that “Veder, who’d been standing in a crowded bullpen with dozens of other journalists, noticed the sprinting family and started taking pictures.
When was Robert Stirm taken prisoner of war?
Maj Stirm served as an F-105 pilot with the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Takhli Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, from August 1967 until he was forced to eject over North Vietnam and was taken as a Prisoner of War on October 27, 1967. After spending 1,966 days in captivity, Lt Col Stirm was released during Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973.
What’s the story behind the photo of Robert Stirm?
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.
When did Robert Stirm join the Air Force?
One of these flights included Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm, the soldier in the famous photograph. Born in San Francisco, Stirm joined the Aviation Cadet Program before graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in November 1954. On February 6, 1955, he married his wife Loretta.
