The way it was: Today in history
Throwback Thursday: A look back at events in history on March 17, including American POWs returning home and filming "Gone with the Wind"
In this photo, released prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm is greeted by his family at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, as he returns home from the Vietnam War, March 17, 1973. In the lead is Stirm's daughter Lori, 15; followed by son Robert, 14; daughter Cynthia, 11; wife Loretta and son Roger, 12.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart, 40, stands next to a Lockheed Electra 10E, before her last flight in 1937 from Oakland, California bound for Honolulu on the first leg of her record-setting attempt to circumnavigate the world westward along the Equator.
Clark Gable & Vivian Leigh
Filming has at long last started in Hollywood on the production of Gone With the Wind, the film version of the famous best-selling novel, which has been a subject of speculation in the film city for nearly a year.
The chief roles were exceptionally difficult to cast, and, after lengthy conferences, Clark Gable and the young British star, Vivien Leigh, eventually secured them. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, as they will be seen in Gone With the Wind, pictured just before going in front of the cameras for the first day's work on the film, on March 17, 1939 in Hollywood.
Adolf Hitler
German Nazi Chancellor Adolf Hitler looks out from a window of Prague Castle on March 17, 1939, two days after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Third Reich's army.
Bomb shelter
Mrs. Lawrence N. Wilson poses in a bomb shelter at the International Flower show at the Grand Central Palace in New York, March 17, 1941.
Mt Vesuvius erupts
With Mt. Vesuvius smoking and spewing ash in the background, an Army jeep is seen speeding away from the inferno, as the volcano erupts shortly after the arrival of the Allied forces in Naples on March 17, 1944.
Francis the "talking mule"
Francis the "talking" mule is shown in a special device for holding ice which helps to relieve the pain of gout he has acquired in his ankles on March 17, 1951 in Hollywood.
St. Patrick's Day parade
The 69th Infantry, National Guard, swings past St. Patrick's Cathedral, left, on Fifth Avenue in New York City, March 17, 1948 as they march in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
The first ever St. Patrick's Day parade was recorded not in Ireland, but in New York City in 1762. Boosted by a dramatic increase in Irish immigrants to America in the 19th century, St. Patrick's Day celebrations became widespread in the U.S.
Prince Albert & Princess Grace
The first official photograph of Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre of Monaco, son and heir of Prince Rainier III, in the arms of his mother Princess Grace, in Monaco, March 17, 1958.
Dalai Lama escapes
High in the Himalayas, the Dalai Lama, god king of Tibet, rests with warriors who protected him on his incredible flight from the Chinese.
The Dalia Lama, seated sixth from left, fled the sacred capital Lhasa on the night of March 17, 1959, when the Chinese opened fire.
First his personal guards protected him, but they were soon joined by his squad of loyal Khamba tribesmen. Some carried sub-machine guns and others flintlocks with bayonets. Despite pursuit and road blocks, the Dalai Lama reached the free zone of India on March 31.
Martin Luther King marches
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. locks arms with his aides as he leads a march of several thousands to the court house in Montgomery, Alabama, March 17, 1965.
From left: Rev. Ralph Abernathy, James Foreman, King, Jesse Douglas, Sr., and John Lewis (partially out of frame).
Robert F. Kennedy
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy campaigns for the Democratic nomination for president in Boston on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1968.
Playboy Bunnies
Playboy Bunnies welcome Hugh Hefner on the inaugural flight of his new DC-9 jetliner, The Big Bunny, March 17, 1970.
Final Carol Burnett Show
Carol Burnett is shown in character during taping of the final Carol Burnett Show before a live studio audience in Los Angeles, California, March 17, 1978.
The two-hour finale aired on March 29. The Carol Burnett Show debuted on Sept. 11, 1967.
Christiana Onassis
The American-born heiress Christina Onassis, daughter of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, with her fourth husband Thierry Roussel in Paris after their wedding March 17, 1984.
Halabja gas attack
A dead Kurdish father holds his baby in his arms in Halabja, Iraq, March 17, 1988.
Both were killed by an Iraqi chemical attack with mustard gas and the deadly nerve agent sarin on the city in northeastern Iraq, March 16. An estimated 5,000 people were killed that day -- mostly women and children -- and thousands more later from the effects. It was the worst use of chemical warfare in the modern era.
The Iraq-Iran war began in September 1980 after Iraqi troops and tanks crashed across the Iranian border in a dawn thrust to encircle Abadan oil refinery city.
The ten-year conflict ended in August 1990.
David Bowie
British singer David Bowie poses during a press conference to present his new album "Let's dance" at the Claridge hotel in London on March 17, 1983.
Bill Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton reacts with his wife Hillary as confetti reigns down during his victory party in Chicago after winning the Illinois primary March 17, 1992.
War with Iraq
President Bush stands in the White House Cross Hall after addressing the nation on his ultimatum to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, in Washington, March 17, 2003.
After meeting with allies in the Azores, the United States., Britain and Spain ended diplomatic efforts in the United Nations to disarm Saddam Hussein, clearing the way for a U.S.-led war without Security Council approval.
Sammy Sosa
Baltimore Orioles' Sammy Sosa, right, and his lawyer Jim Sharp swear in at the Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill to examine the use of steroids in baseball in Washington, D.C., March 17, 2005. At left, former Oakland athletic and Texas Ranger baseball player Jose Canseco.