On Friday morning (6/1/2018), traffic on a section of the Sam Ridley Parkway was diverted as a 350-ton crane with a telescopic boom length of 210.1 feet was used to lift the 21,600 pound F/A-18C Hornet from the flatbed trailer truck to a memorial pedestal at the entrance to the Lee Victory Recreation Park.

Eerily Friday's placement of the jet took place within hours of being exactly two-years after the fatal crash of Blue Angel Captain Jeff Kuss in Smyrna on June 2, 2016. It is speculated that it was no accident that Kuss' aircraft went down in an empty field between the Historic Sam Davis Home and the Smyrna Airport.

You could hear a pin drop when Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority's Executive Director John Black noted that the US Navy's Blue Angels would be at the next Great Tennessee Airshow on June 8 and 9, 2019.

Dedication 10AM June 9, 2018

The Blue Angel aircraft is on permanent loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida and will be on display as part of the US Marine Corps Memorial dedicated to Marine Captain Jeff Kuss who on June 2, 2016, at the age of 32, lost his life in a tragic in-flight accident while flying as Blue Angel #6 in practice for the Great Tennessee Air Show.

The memorial dedication will be held on June 9 at 10:00 a.m. at Lee Victory Recreation Park in Smyrna and is open the public.

About Captain Jeff Kuss, USMC

Marine Captain Jeff Kuss was a decorated pilot who, through his career, accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and 175 carrier landings. Captain Kuss served in Afghanistan and earned the Strike Flight Air Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his time in the military. He joined the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron in September 2014 and flew as Opposing Solo for the 2016 team.

Kuss, a native of Durango, Colorado, was a decorated pilot who served in Afghanistan and had accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and 175 landings on aircraft carriers.

As a child, Kuss dreamed of being a pilot and obtained his pilot's license before his driver's license. After graduating from Fort Lewis College, Kuss was commissioned as a Second

Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and reported to Pensacola, Fla. in 2007. He earned his wings of gold in 2009 and later graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapon School, also known as "Top Gun," in 2012.

While serving in Afghanistan, Kuss earned the Strike Flight Air Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. In 2014, he joined the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron.

On June 2, 2016, at the age of 32, Kuss tragically lost his life when his jet crashed a day before The Great Tennessee Air Show in Smyrna. Kuss is survived by his wife, Christina, children Calvin and Sloane, parents Janet and Michael, and brother Eric.

Ways to Contribute

• Online at CaptJeffKussUSMCMemorial.com
• MobileCause: Text Jeff to 71777
• In person at the Smyrna Town Hall or any Franklin Synergy Bank