It wasn't his "first performance" but his first year on the team. He
practiced these maneuvers hundreds of times before going out for the first
airshow. LCDR Davis was a highly experienced pilot with superb training,
both for combat and for airshow maneuvers. See this article from today's
Pensacola News Journal:


Blue Angels in mourning
Team flies home to NAS one man short


Thyrie Bland


The Blue Angels returned home Sunday with heavy hearts and decided not to
participate in a weekend air show in Vidalia, Ga.

The team is mourning the loss of Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, who was killed
Saturday in Beaufort, S.C., when his No. 6 jet crashed during an air show.

The return to the Pensacola Naval Air Station was much different than on
most Sundays. No one said much. And there wasn't the usual cheering and
clapping that greet the elite flying team after a weekend show.

Somber family members were waiting at the air station when the team returned
about 3:40 p.m.

"It was a very teary-eyed reunion," Lt. Cmdr. Garrett Kasper, spokesman for
the Blue Angels, said Sunday evening.

The team met after getting back to NAS and decided not to practice Tuesday.

"We would like to get back in the air as soon as practicable," Kasper said.

A memorial service honoring Davis also was discussed, but plans remain
incomplete, Kasper said.

Davis' parking space at Pensacola Naval Air Station has been turned into a
makeshift memorial for the fallen Blue Angels pilot.

There are flowers, including roses, sunflowers, lilies and daisies, laid
against a fence with a blue sign attached, bearing Davis' name.

"We will always remember No. 6," one poster read.

"God bless your soul. Fly high Blue Angel," another small note read.

Oscar Bergman and his wife, Ro, left a jar with two roses -- one red and one
white -- a poem and an e-mail from a friend.

"I touched the (sign) with his name on it, and the tears came," said Ro
Bergman, a longtime fan of the Blues.

As a tribute to Davis outside the Blue Angels hangar, flood lights were
aimed at a spare jet bearing Davis' name and the No. 6.

The display was a reflection of Davis' personality, Kasper said.

"Even in the darkest of times, Kevin Davis was the guy that could shed light
on the situation," Kasper said.

The rest of Davis' team, mourning the loss of their teammate, declined to
speak with the media. Harry White, public affairs officer for NAS, said the
pilots were "starting the healing process."

Things seemed normal at the air station on Sunday afternoon, with a steady
amount of traffic, people playing golf on the base's course and sailboats
floating in the water nearby.

Throughout the weekend, there are a lot of heavy hearts on the base.

"With something like this, it doesn't matter who you are, you are going to
be affected," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Tom Samelstad, a Naval air
crewman stationed at NAS. "But if you do anything in aviation, you know the
Blue Angels and it hits you that much harder."

The Blues are a special part of this Northwest Florida city, with locals
feeling a special bond with the pilots.

"There are people who have lived here all their lives and seen the air show
every year," Samelstad said Saturday. "Pensacola wouldn't be the same
without the Blue Angels."

"We are a small town," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeff Plowman, a
Pensacola native and rescue swimmer instructor at NAS. "They are definitely
our hometown heroes."

Gulf Breeze resident Cheryl Wiggins posted her large Blue Angels flag
outside her home about 7 a.m. Sunday.

"It's going to stay out there for at least a week at half staff," said
Wiggins, who also plans to wear her "wing and a prayer" pin as a tribute to
Davis.

Davis, known by his nickname "Kojak," joined the Blues in September 2005. He
had been on the team for two years, and this was his first year as a
demonstration pilot.

Davis spent his early years in Pittsfield, Mass. Davis' father, John, was
principal at Taconic High School.

John Davis and his wife, Ann, who now reside in Aiken, S.C., were at
Saturday's show when their son was killed.

Kevin Davis graduated in 1992 from Reading Memorial High School after the
family moved east when his father took a job as school superintendent in
Somerville, Mass.

Kevin Davis graduated with honors in 1996 from Embry Riddle Aeronautical
University in Daytona Beach, according to the Blue Angels' Web site. In
September of that year, he entered officer candidate school at Naval Air
Station in Pensacola.

He earned "Top Stick" status in his class at Fighter Squadron 101 at Naval
Air Station Oceana, Va., while training in F-14 Tomcat jets. He flew
missions supporting the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and graduated from Navy
Flight Weapons School in 2004.

Even as a young boy, Kevin Davis was intrigued by speed.

"He was fascinated with airplanes from the time he was little," former
neighbor Betty Sweeney said. "He knew what he wanted to do, and he did it.
That's the only relief, that he went doing what he wanted to do."

News Journal staff writers Jessica Coleman, Chrissy Littledale and The
Associated Press contributed to this report.

"J.F." wrote in message
t...
According to the news last night, this was his first performance. Being
retired military, my heart goes out to him and his family. "God Speed"
"Clairbear" wrote in message
...
"MWB" wrote in news:462a8925$0$17174
:

Tom,

FOX is reporting it was the 6 plane.

Sad day

Mark




Our sympathies and thoughts are for his family and team mates