Joe Kittinger

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Balloonist Joe W. Kittinger Jr. says goodbye to his girl friend, Sherry Reed, Friday night before taking off in Caribou to try for balloon record over the Atlantic Ocean. Kittinger lifted off at 8:26 p.m. aboard Rosie O'Grady Balloon of Peace, hoping to become the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in a balloon. High winds pushed the adventurer to within 600 miles of his goal Sunday night, with a touchdown predicted after sunrise Monday on the coast of France. Kittinger, 56, is a much-decorated former Air Force colonel who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His black and white helium balloon is 10 stories high and measures 101,000 cubic feet. (Bangor Daily NEWS File Photo by Tamra Hill)