Answer the following question: Facts: - caption: colonel as a captain -rrb- joseph w. kittinger ii , usaf -lrb- pictured - battles: vietnam war - allegiance: united states - nickname: red - awards: silver 2 -rrb- distinguished flying cross -lrb- 6 -rrb- bronze star star -lrb- 3 -rrb- purple heart -lrb- 2 -rrb- meritorious service -lrb- medal air medal -lrb- 24 -rrb- prisoner of war medal 2 -rrb- legion of merit -lrb- - birth date: 27 july 1928 - serviceyears: 1950-1978 - name: joseph w. kittinger ii - branch: 25px united states air force - image: joseph kittinger , jr.jpg - birth place: tampa , florida , united states - rank: 25px colonel Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of joseph kittinger .
Answer:
joseph william kittinger ii -lrb- born july 27 , 1928 -rrb- is a retired colonel in the united states air force and a usaf command pilot .following his initial operational assignment in fighter aircraft , he participated in project manhigh and project excelsior in 1960 , setting a world record for the longest skydive from a height greater than .he was also the first man to make a solo crossing of the atlantic ocean in a gas balloon .serving as a fighter pilot during the vietnam war , he achieved an aerial kill of a north vietnamese mig-21 jet fighter and was later shot down himself , spending 11 months as a prisoner of war in a north vietnamese prison .in 2012 , at the age of 84 , he participated in the red bull stratos project as capsule communicator , directing felix baumgartner on his record-breaking freefall from earth 's stratosphere , exceeding kittinger 's earlier freefall in 1960 .