This Pulitzer-winning photograph shows a prisoner of war reuniting with his family
The Paris Peace Accords ended the war between the U.S. and Vietnam. The agreement included the return of 591 American prisoners of war still held captive by North Vietnam. This picture shows one of those soldiers who returned to U.S. soil after years of imprisonment.
The man was Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, who spent five years imprisoned before reuniting with his family in 1973. Photographer Slava “Sal” Veder captured the momentous occasion and named their picture “Burst of Joy.” It is truly an apt name because there is no better representation of joy than this.