Air Force lieutenant colonel in iconic Vietnam War photo "Burst of Joy" dies at 92

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Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, the antheral captured successful the iconic "Burst of Joy" photograph astatine Travis Air Force Base successful Northern California, has died astatine the property of 92, his household said.   

Stirm passed distant connected the greeting of Veterans Day.

He was a captive of warfare successful Vietnam for 5 years. When helium was freed and arrived location astatine Travis Air Force Base successful 1973, an iconic photograph captured his girl moving toward her father. 

5p-pkg-p-fall-of-saigon-kmaxd95a-2.jpg AP Images/Slava Veder

Five decades later, successful April, Stirm's daughter, Lorrie Kitching, spoke with CBS Sacramento to bespeak connected that moment. Kitching, with her arms outstretched successful the photograph arsenic she runs toward her father, was 15 years aged astatine the time.  

"It is conscionable a glorious infinitesimal of clip of my dada coming location to his family," Kitching said. 

Kitching saved letters her begetter wrote from the situation camp. 

"I'm truthful arrogant of my teenage girl," 1 of the letters said.

One of Stirm's situation mates was the precocious Sen. John McCain, who was changeable down a time earlier helium was. 

The "Burst of Joy" was taken by Associated Press lensman Slava Veder and won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

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