High altitude jump from a nearly forgotten age

I caught this photo on the Soaring Wikipedia. As it happened, I knew then
Capt. Kittinger during these tests. I thought him to be a very friendly and
enthusiastic aviator though seemingly determined to 'push the envelope'
whenever he had the chance. He was a real "Jet Jocky" and a small boy's
hero.

You will notice, if you look carefully, that his right glove has detached
from his pressure suit exposing bare skin to virtual space conditions at
102,000 feet. The only result was a swollen hand that was painful for a few
days.

It is not true that the unnamed "Air Force Empolyee" given credit for the
photo was a lowly GS3 wearing shorts and T-shirt while riding in the open
gondola as a contemporary Mad Magazine suggested. The unmanned camera was
triggered by the lanyard seen in the photo.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kittinger-jump.jpg

Where are today's heros?

Bill Daniels