TWS has a special affinity for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, as the son of one staff member flew with the team a decade ago and the friend of another is flying with it now. Yesterday, the Angels lost USMC Captain Jeff Kuss in an accident in Smyrna, Tennessee.

In 2007, Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, a squadmate of Lt. Cmdr. Tom Winkler, son of then-managing editor Claudia Anderson, died in an accident during an airshow. Until yesterday, he was the last Blue Angel to die in service to his country. At the time, Jonathan Last wrote a tribute to him, and the similarities are eerie. Like Davis, Kuss learned to fly at a young age and started with the team as Blue Angel #7, who narrates the show. His second year, Kuss piloted jet #6, the position he shared with Davis at the moment he perished.