Things Are Not Always as They Seem

This incredibly iconic photo, famously titled Burst of Joy,was taken on this day in 1973. It's become a photo we've all taken to one one of ecstatic joy, a US soldier coming back to his family from Vietnam. And not just a soldier - Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm had just been released after 5 years as a POW. It's a photo that exudes happiness, hope, love, and everything.

Except.

I stumbled upon this little fact on Wikipedia:

Despite outward appearances, the reunion was an unhappy one for Stirm. Three days before he arrived in the United States, the same day he was released from captivity, Stirm received a Dear John letter from his wife Loretta informing him that their marriage was over. Stirm later learned that Loretta had been with other men throughout his captivity, receiving marriage proposals from three of them.

WTF!!  3 days before?? 3 marriage proposals? AND ACCORDING TO THE PHOTO SHE HAD THE ONIONS TO SHOW UP WITH A SMILE ON HER FACE?

Did things at least get better for Stirm, you ask?

Nope:

In 1974, the Stirms divorced and Loretta remarried, but Lt Col Stirm was still ordered by the courts to provide her with 43% of his military retirement pay once he retired from the Air Force.