'Burst of Joy' Photographer Sal Veder Dies

Slava J. Veder is born in Berkeley, California, the only child of Ivan and Anka Veder, Russian emigrants who took the names John and Ann after settling in the United States.

After working as a sports writer and news editor at several publications, Veder is hired as a staff photographer by The Associated Press in its Sacramento bureau. He later transfers to the San Francisco office.

At 46, Veder is sent to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, for the arrival of Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm and other returning prisoners of war. Jammed into a crowded bullpen with dozens of other photographers, he catches Stirm's four children breaking into a run toward their father. Working out of a makeshift darkroom set up in a women's bathroom on base, he produces six images, including "Burst of Joy."

The picture wins the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.

Veder covers the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by former city supervisor Dan White.

Veder retires from the AP.

Robert Stirm, the officer at the center of the photograph, dies.

Veder dies at home at 99.