page_title: Joe Kittinger
hierarchical_section_title: Joe Kittinger
caption_attribution_description: "Colonel Joe," as friends call him, continues to fly high, barnstorming across the country with his wife, Sherry, in an open-cockpit biplane. Retired US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger Jr.'s career was highlighted in the December 1999 issue of Airman Magazine. The story titled "Leap of Faith", describes Colonel Kittinger's historic balloon flights and his world record free fall from a balloon at an amazing 102,800 feet. He was also an "ace" pilot during the Vietnam War and four days before completing his tour he was shot down and spent 11 months as a prisoner of war. The Colonel continues to fly today and has his sights on an around-the-world balloon flight. ID: 991201-F-0308N-003
context_page_description: Joseph William Kittinger II is a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force and a USAF Command Pilot. He was born in Tampa, Florida. He set a world record for the longest skydive from a height more than 31 kilometres. He was also the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean, alone, in a hot air balloon.
  He was a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War and was a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison.
context_section_description: Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force and a USAF Command Pilot. He was born in Tampa, Florida. He set a world record for the longest skydive from a height more than 31 kilometres (19 mi). He was also the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean, alone, in a hot air balloon.
  He was a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War and was a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison.
caption: Kittinger in 1999
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