On Sept. 9, 2024, four U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons roared over Arlington National Cemetery, and one soared out in the “missing man” formation as a final salute to Col. Joseph Kittinger, Jr., a wing commander during the Vietnam War. As the honor guard carried Kittinger’s urn to Section 36A, a lone airman held high an MIA/POW flag, honoring Kittinger’s eleven months in a North Vietnamese prison camp.
Kittinger held many titles during his Air Force career: pioneer, record breaker, combat pilot and prisoner of war. Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Andrew Lloyd, who oversaw the service, told attendees about Kittinger’s impressive life. “He discovered at an early age that he was fascinated with air power, with his first solo flight being completed at age 17,” Lloyd said.
Kittinger earned his Air Force wings in 1950 and became world-famous for dropping to the earth. In 1958, he tested the survivability of high-altitude bailouts in three earth-defying jumps. Project Excelsior marked the longest freefall up to that time: Kittinger dropped 102,800 feet in a fall that lasted four minutes and 36 seconds. He went on to serve three tours in Vietnam, commanding the 555th Tactical Fighter Wing and flying F-4 Phantom IIs on his last tour. In May 1972, four days before he was to return to the United States, he was shot down over North Vietnam. “He was captured and spent eleven months in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp,” Lloyd said, “where he leaned on his strong faith.”
After retiring from the Air Force, Kittinger continued aviation pursuits, from flying advertising banners to skywriting. Lloyd noted that in 1984, he made the first solo balloon flight across the Atlantic, traveling 3,543 miles. Throughout his eulogy, Lloyd repeated one word to describe Kittinger’s career: “Selfless.”
As a testament to Kittinger’s importance to the Air Force and his country, Maj. Gen. Daniel DeVoe, commander of the Air Force District of Washington, presented the American flag to Sherry Kittinger, the pioneer’s wife.
Katie Fisher, Kittinger’s granddaughter-in-law, fondly remembered family dinners with the colonel. “He would always pull me aside and tell me very seriously how bright and intelligent my daughters were,” she said. “He would tell me to make sure they believed they could do anything they want because he grew up believing that.”
Fisher’s daughters, 14-year-old Airlie and 10-year-old Audra, also had fond memories of their great-grandfather. Airlie did a school project on him when she was in the third grade. “My teachers were amazed I was related to him,” she said.
Six Vietnamese American women from the Vietnam Unforgettable Memories Foundation, an organization that thanks Vietnam veterans for their service, also attended the service. Christina Dao, the organization’s founder, described Kittinger as a mentor to the group. She reflected on the first time she met the colonel. “The first words he said to me were ‘I’m sorry I lost your country,’ and I said, ‘no sir, you kept us free when we were in Vietnam, and you continued when you got back to the United States.”