Joseph Kittinger Obituary

Colonel Joseph William Kittinger II was a Command Pilot in the United States Air Force (USAF).

Kittinger was born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Orlando, Florida. He attended The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Florida.

In March 1949, he enlisted in the United States Air Force as an aviation cadet. He received his pilot wings and a commission as a second lieutenant after completing aviation cadet training in March 1950.

He was later assigned to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, where he flew the F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre.

Kittinger shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-21 jet fighter as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War.

Later, he was shot down himself, and he spent 11 months as a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison before being repatriated in 1973.

Colonel Joseph Kittinge died Friday December 9, 2022, in Florida. He was 94. Joseph Kittinger died from lung cancer. According to Former U.S. Rep. John Mica and other friends who announced his death.