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Burst of Joy is a photograph taken on March 17, 1973, by Associated Press photographer Slava "Sal" Veder. It shows Robert L. Stirm (1933–2025), a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, meeting his family after five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Photographed at Travis Air Force Base in California, Burst of Joy captures the moment when Stirm's daughter runs toward him with her arms outstretched, followed by other family members, as he returns home after the repatriation of American prisoners following the Paris Peace Accords. The image was widely published in newspapers and magazines and became one of the most recognizable photographs of the war's human aftermath, winning the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

Photograph credit: Slava "Sal" Veder