PENSACOLA, Fla. — During an emotional candlelight vigil in Florida, members of an elite flight demonstration squad said goodbye to one of its pilots, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss.
Kuss, a 32-year-old married father of two young children, died June 2 while practicing for an airshow in Smyrna, Tennessee. The Pensacola News-Journal reports fellow Blue Angel pilot Navy Lt. Matt Suyderhoud promised the crowd Thursday the squad will fly the skies over Pensacola where it is based "when the time is right." The Navy announced in a news release that Kuss will be buried Saturday in a private ceremony in Durango, Colorado. The ceremony will include a flyover by the Checkerboards, Kuss' unit before joining the Blue Angels. The Navy also announced that the Blue Angels canceled upcoming performances in New York and Ohio following the crash.