Editing Joseph Kittinger (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:F-4 Phantom II Collings Foundation.jpg|thumb|Collings Foundation F-4D Phantom II with markings & serial number of the F-4D that then-Lt Col Kittinger achieved his [[MiG-21]] kill in while commanding the [[555th Fighter Squadron|555th Tactical Fighter Squadron]]. The actual F-4D, AF Ser. No. 66-7463, is now on permanent display at the [[USAF Academy]].]] 
In 1997, Kittinger was inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Records and awards |url=http://joekittinger.com/recordsawards.html |access-date=16 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424080515/http://joekittinger.com/recordsawards.html |archive-date=24 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On January 23, 2007, the [[Civil Air Patrol]] honored Kittinger by renaming the Texas CAP wing's TX-352 Squadron after him. Texas Governor [[Rick Perry]] cited Kittinger's work, as did the Texas state senate with a special resolution presented during the dedication ceremony attended by Kittinger and his wife, Sherry. The Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger Phantom Senior Squadron of CAP's Texas Wing is based at the former [[Bergstrom AFB]], the site of Kittinger's last active duty assignment in the Air Force and which is now the [[Austin-Bergstrom International Airport]].

Kittinger was honored at a 2009 ceremony in [[Caribou, Maine]], the launch point for his 1984 solo trans-Atlantic balloon flight. He also served as the guest of honor at the community's sesquicentennial celebration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/joe_kittinger.php|title=Paul E. Garber Shrine|work=First Flight Society|access-date=June 28, 2013|archive-date=November 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114004645/http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/joe_kittinger.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{youTube|quaZVqMe56s|Col. Joe Kittinger in Caribou, Maine Parade Sept 2009}}</ref>

On February 20, 2013, Kittinger visited his ''alma mater'', the [[University of Florida]], and spoke to over 400 students and faculty about his role in the Red Bull Stratos and ''Excelsior III''.<references group="The Gainesville Sun"/> The event took place during the UF Engineers Week, and it was made possible due to the efforts of the UF American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, UF's [[Air Force ROTC]] Detachment 150, and the UF College of Engineering.<ref name="UF alum, 84, talks about helping daredevil break his parachute jump records">{{cite web|last=Kegu|first=Jessica|title=UF alum, 84, talks about helping daredevil break his parachute jump records|url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130221/ARTICLES/130229865/?tc=ar|work=The Gainesville Sun|access-date=30 May 2013|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064059/http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130221/ARTICLES/130229865/?tc=ar|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2023, Kittinger was posthumously inducted into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame in [[Tallahassee, Florida]].<ref>https://floridaveteranshalloffame.org/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://floridaveteranshalloffame.org/?page_id=5956#:~:text=Joseph%20Kittinger%20%E2%80%8E&text=A%20Florida%20native%2C%20POW%2C%20and,both%20war%20and%20peace%20times | title=2023 Inductees – Florida Veteran's Hall of Fame }}</ref>

===Colonel Joe Kittinger Park===
[[File:F4D 650747 Kittinger.jpg|thumb|F-4D, AF Ser. No. 65-0747, on display at Colonel Joe Kittinger Park]]
In September 1992, Colonel Joe Kittinger Park<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/JoeKittinger.htm |title=City of Orlando :: Families, Parks and Recreation – Colonel Joe Kittinger Park |access-date=2013-06-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126112912/http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/JoeKittinger.htm |archive-date=2014-01-26 }}</ref> in [[Orlando, Florida]], was completed by the [[Greater Orlando Aviation Authority]] (GOAA) for the [[City of Orlando]]. Located on the southwest corner of the [[Orlando Executive Airport]], at the corner of Crystal Lake Drive and South Street, the park was named in Kittinger's honor, but was temporarily closed and partially demolished circa 2008–2011 in order to create a [[stormwater runoff]] retention area to permit a highway expansion project of the [[Florida State Road 408|State Road 408]] East-West Expressway. In March 2011, the park was reopened at its previous location.<ref>{{cite web|title=Local Aviation Hero, Colonel Joe Kittinger, Re-Opens Park in His Honor at Orlando Executive Airport |url=http://www.orlandoairports.net/press/2011/20110316.htm |access-date=16 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615215732/http://orlandoairports.net/press/2011/20110316.htm |archive-date=15 June 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In spring 2014, the mayor of Orange County, the mayor of Orlando, the GOAA Board, and other City of Orlando and GOAA officials approved the installation in the park of a restored USAF [[F-4 Phantom II]] aircraft. The [[National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]] picked an [[F-4 Phantom II|F-4D]] previously on display in Corsicana, Texas (Air Force serial no. 65-0747) to be moved to Orlando for display.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityoforlando.net/elected/mayor/pressreleases/11_03_15_park.htm |title=Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer Reopens Colonel Joe Kittinger Park |access-date=2013-06-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114003917/http://www.cityoforlando.net/elected/mayor/pressreleases/11_03_15_park.htm |archive-date=2013-11-14 }}</ref> It was subsequently determined that Kittinger had flown this particular F-4D on several occasions when it was assigned to his fighter wing in [[Thailand]] during the Vietnam War, and later when it was assigned to his fighter wing in Great Britain. Disassembled in Texas and transported in two semi-trailers over several days, the aircraft arrived in Orlando on July 22, 2014. It was restored by a team of volunteers at Orlando Executive Airport and painted with the colors and markings of the squadron that Kittinger commanded during the Vietnam War. The restored aircraft was mounted on its pylon and formally dedicated on December 14, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orlandoairports.net/press/2014/20140722.htm|title=Orlando International Airport (MCO) – Press Release – 7/22/14 F-4 Phantom Arrives at ORL|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811232422/http://www.orlandoairports.net/press/2014/20140722.htm|archive-date=2014-08-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-videos/f-4-phantom-arrives-orlando-serve-vietnam-vet-tribute.html|title=F-4 Phantom Arrives in Orlando to Serve as Vietnam Vet Tribute|work=Warbirds News|date=23 July 2014|access-date=August 2, 2014|archive-date=August 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808124234/http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-videos/f-4-phantom-arrives-orlando-serve-vietnam-vet-tribute.html|url-status=live}}</ref>