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Homecoming | U.S. Air Force Vietnam POW Col. Robert L. Stirm Laid to Rest at ANC
On July 29, 2026, airmen from the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, airmen from the U.S. Air Force Band’s Ceremonial Brass and soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson Detachment conducted full military funeral honors with escort for U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Stirm
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On July 29, 2026, airmen from the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, airmen from the U.S. Air Force Band’s Ceremonial Brass and soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson Detachment conducted full military funeral honors with escort for U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Stirm in Section 57 at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1967, Stirm's F-105 Thunderchief was shot down during a bombing mission. He was shot three times after ejecting and captured by the North Vietnamese. Stirm spent 1,966 days as a POW, including time in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton."
He was released on March 17, 1973, as part of "Operation Homecoming," reuniting with his family at Travis Air Force Base in California. As his family ran to embrace him, Associated Press photographer Slava “Sal” Veder captured a photo of that moment that would win him a Pulitzer Prize, which Veder titled “Burst of Joy.”
(U.S. Army Video by Derek Patterson / Arlington National Cemetery)
Attribution: Source: DVIDS Hub — U.S. Department of Defense public-affairs media
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