‘A spaceman before we had spacemen’ | Orlando’s hall-of-fame aviator Joe Kittinger dies at 94
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Joseph “Joe” Kittinger, a hall-of-fame aviator long considered the world’s first astronaut, died at home Friday morning.
Friends described Kittinger, for whom a park is named at Orlando Executive Airport, as an American hero, remembering his “derring-do” — parachuting from a balloon 20 miles above Earth, crossing the Atlantic Ocean alone in a balloon and hunting alligators into his 80s.
“He lived a lot of lives,” said Jerry Pierce, 82, whose friendship with him spanned decades. “It’s amazing he made it this long.”
Kittinger, 94, died after a battle with lung cancer, said Pierce and another long-time friend, former Congressman John Mica.
“He’s probably one of the most significant veterans and American heroes in Florida, if not the nation,” Mica said in a telephone interview. “Just a uniquely remarkable individual. There’s so many things he’s responsible for and accomplished. He predates the space program.”
Mica said the Orlando VA hospital “wouldn’t be here without Joe’s encouragement and nonstop work on behalf of veterans.”
“Our nation lost a legend and hero ...,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott posted on social media Friday afternoon. “We’re forever thankful for his service and contributions to our country.”
On Aug. 16, 1960, the red-headed Kittinger, then 32 and an Air Force captain, stunned the world when he rode in a gondola tethered to a helium balloon to a height of 102,800 feet, roughly 19 miles above the Earth, and then jumped. His free-fall lasted 4 minutes and 36 seconds and neared the speed of sound before he opened his parachute.
The height technically made him the world’s first astronaut, Pierce said.
“He was a spaceman before we had spacemen,” he said.
The jump put him on the cover of Life magazine.
He was a guest on popular TV shows, “What’s My Line?” and “To Tell The Truth.”
Pierce said Kittinger continued living dangerously into his 80s.
“He would go out on a flatboat and hunt alligators in the middle of the night with a friend and a flashlight,” Pierce said.
He recalled Kittinger coming to a veterans meeting with a picture of an 18-foot alligator he had caught.
Kittinger flew 93 types of aircraft, held the world record for fastest free fall and highest parachute jump and was the first person to complete a solo balloon flight nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, according to his autobiography, “Come Up And Get Me.”
The book’s title comes from a Morse Code message Kittinger teasingly sent to ground controllers in response to their order that he descend from 96,000 feet during a balloon test flight.
Kittinger also headed flight operations for Rosie O’Grady’s Flying Circus, skywriting messages and towing advertising banners behind a bi-plane for the downtown establishment.
The mailbox at his home in Altamonte Springs boasted wings and a propeller; the doormat said “Welcome UFOs and Crews.”
Both Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Kevin Thibault, the airport’s CEO, lauded Kittinger.
“Col. Kittinger is an American hero. He bravely served our nation for decades and experienced unthinkable hardship as a prisoner of war. After retiring, he continued to break barriers and was active with Orlando veterans groups,” the mayor said on Twitter. “He was one of a kind.”
The Greater Orlando Airport Authority had previously created a veteran’s award, which it named for Kittinger.
“The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, along with the entire airport family, are saddened by the passing of our friend and American hero, Colonel Joe Kittinger,” said Thibault. “While our hearts are heavy, our souls will remain forever enriched by the relationship we shared with this extraordinary pioneer.”
The United State Parachute Association of which Kittinger was a member, will hold a memorial service in January, the group announced Friday.
Born in Tampa in 1928 but raised in Orlando, Kittinger explored the St. Johns River as a boy.
According to a biography provided by retired U.S. Army Col. Delloyd Voorhees Jr., a family friend, Kittinger was so fascinated with aircraft as a youth that he could solo-fly a Piper Cub when he was 17.
He was educated at a private high school in Jacksonville that focused on military discipline, attended the University of Florida for two years then was accepted into the United States Air Force aviation school at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas in March 1949.
In 1953, he was chosen to fly experimental jet fighters and participate in aerospace medical research.
According to the biography, part a ‘VA Veteran of the Day’ announcement, Kittinger was recruited in 1955 to be a test pilot for “Project Manhigh,” a study of the effects of cosmic rays from the Earth’s atmosphere on the mental and physical capabilities of humans in space-like altitudes.
In 1958, he was assigned to Project Excelsior, intended to test a person’s ability to survive high-altitude bailouts.
During his 29-year military career, he received numerous awards, including two Silver Stars, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Purple Heart and a USAF Marksmanship Ribbon.
Kittinger flew 483 military missions during three combat tours of duty in Vietnam.
Many who knew him from his balloon exploits as a civilian and skywriter over Orlando were unaware he had been tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam until he detailed his ordeal for the Orlando Sentinel on the 25th anniversary of the fall of South Vietnam.
He appeared before the U.S. Senate in 1964, accompanied by other pilots, and testified that the nation was not winning in Vietnam. Kittinger said the U.S. would not prevail unless Congress officially declared war and gave military leaders more control. Another option, the pilots said during the hearing, was to bring U.S. troops home.
Colonel Joe Kittinger Park, located at Crystal Lake Road and South Street close to State Road 408, includes an F-4 Phantom jet. He helped raise money for the park to honor veterans, especially those who served in Vietnam, Pierce said.
He is survived by his wife, Sherry; sons Joseph III of North Carolina and Mark of Longwood; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Mark Kittinger recalled overhearing a recent conversation between his father and a friend of his father, who offered condolence to his dad after learning the elder Kittinger was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer.
Joe Kittinger’s reply: “I’ve had a hell of a life.”
