Smyrna, Tenn. — The recently-installed memorial to Blue Angels Capt. Jeff Kuss in Smyrna was defaced sometime between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
The pilot was killed in a crash during a practice run for the Great Tennessee Air Show.
“It’s very sad that someone would want to deface something that is so special to our community,” said Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed, who shared the news on a Facebook post Thursday morning.
Sgt. Bobby Gibson reported the Smyrna Police Department reviewed available video footage, which "shows a young, juvenile male drawing a name (Hidalgo) on the concrete seat on the flower planter."
"There are no indications that this was an act of intentional vandalism to the memorial itself, just a child who wrote a name on concrete. We also do not suspect any gang affiliation with what was written," Gibson noted in an email.
The writing was not done in permanent paint and has since been cleaned up and no longer visible, Gibson said.
But the damage to the community’s spirit has already been done, Reed said.
“I think so many people when they look at the post … are just so disappointed,” Reed said. “The patriotism we felt on Saturday (at the dedication of the memorial) — being at that event and being with the military and Kuss’ family — was unbelievable. And then you feel exactly the opposite today when you see somebody to feel the need to put their name on that memorial.”
Reach reporter Nancy De Gennaro at 615-278-5148 or degennaro@dnj.com, and follow her on Twitter @NanDeGennaro.