Burst of Joy

March 17, 1973 - After more than five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm stepped onto the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base in California and was reunited with his family.

Associated Press photographer Slava Veder captured the moment in what would become one of the most iconic images of the Vietnam War, later known as “Burst of Joy.”

In the photograph, Stirm’s 14-year-old daughter runs toward him with arms outstretched, while her siblings race alongside and his wife follows behind.

The image won the Pulitzer Prize.

But behind the joy was a private heartbreak. On the very day of his release, Stirm received a letter from his wife telling him she was leaving him. The couple divorced the following year.

For Stirm, the photograph became a painful reminder of a reunion that marked both an ending and a beginning.