By some accounts, U.S. Navy Commander Linzy Lewis III, shouldn’t even be alive today. A little over a year after commissioning in the U.S. Navy, Lewis was diagnosed with leukemia and given less than 24 hours to live.
That was roughly 16 years ago.
Today, the Third Ward born and raised Yates and Texas A&M alum, is in charge of over 100 lives as he has been given command of the USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) Gold Crew.
The Defender spoke with Lewis about his journey from near death to Naval command just days before he took control of his vessel.
Defender: How are feeling about the honor of this command?
Lewis: It’s set in now. I’m truly blessed. It’s a privilege. It is an honor. it’s been a long time. I’ve been in the Navy 16 years. I’m super excited about this opportunity, and the closer it comes to Nov. 1, the weight and the responsibility that the government, the Department of the Navy, the sailors’ parents and siblings, and their spouses have all placed on me, I feel the weight of their stress knowing that they put their loved ones under my leadership. So, I’m looking forward to that. I don’t take this opportunity lightly. I am prepared. I’ve put a lot of time into reading and prepared myself for this moment.
Defender: How does it feel to go from being given 24 hours to live to this moment?
Lewis: It is hard to fathom but all I can say is God is good. When he has a plan for your life, I don’t know if I alone could have derailed what he wanted me to do. To provide context, I was stationed aboard the USS Howard (DDG 83) and we were conducting a Western Pacific Deployment in 2008. This deployment was supposed to be six months but we were extended and during the last few months of deployments I began to feel lethargic and simply under the weather. The consistent night sweating is what made me most nervous but the ship was hot, I worked in the Engineering Department, and I knew that from various readings and trainings that deployment stress can manifest in various ways for people. I sought medical attention on the ship but nothing too drastic was revealed. On month seven or eight of the deployment, Howard was in Guam, refueling and receiving stores for our final push back to San Diego. While in Guam I physically felt the sickest I had ever felt in my life and I remember getting relief from watching and changing clothes and walking to the clinic on base. I recall getting to the clinic and telling the corpsman or whoever was at the front desk that I felt really bad and that I did not know exactly what was going on. They performed an initial vital check and the next thing I remember is waking up in an ambulance with someone telling me that I would be okay. After spending hours in Guam I was diagnosed with leukemia and was eventually medically evacuated to San Diego. I was given a few hours to live. Once back in San Diego Dr. Jarrod Holmes and his team stabilized me and looking back, he set me on a path for recovery which at the time was grim.
Defender: What happened next?
Lewis: My initial cancer journey lasted for a little more than a year, first being an inpatient at Naval Medical Center San Diego for two months until Dr. Holmes found a clinical trial at MD Anderson Center for me to participate in. I spent about 10 months in Houston being treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia and during that time I never had a relapse. That was a miracle because the experimental chemo regimen was working for me when my family and I had received not-so-favorable news from other recipients about the type of chemo. After the MD Anderson team had enough data we made the decision to stop the regimen for continued monitoring at which point the Navy was recommending for medical retirement. I remember being 22 or 23 years old and thinking there is no way my time in the Navy is up. All I’ve wanted to do was serve in the Navy. I’ve only been in the Navy about a year and a half now. This is awful. What am I going to do? After praying, the Navy did not medically retire me. They found me fit for full duty of all things because I hadn’t had a relapse. After that, it was just fast-paced, trying to stay on track in the surface warfare community. I did a couple more ship assignments, got qualified, married, and had another miracle. My wife and I had our first child. I wasn’t supposed to have children with all the chemotherapy that I received. Well, my amazing wife and I ended up having four phenomenal children which is a huge blessing that I do not take for granted.
Defender: What are you most looking forward to in terms of taking command of the USS Santa Barbara Gold?
Lewis: I’m really looking forward to impacting all the junior sailors’ lives in a positive manner. I fear God. so I think the Navy, our sailors, in general just need a positive presence. Somebody who they can look to and talk to and see that I’ve overcome or I’ve persevered through life and that you will have setbacks. But don’t let those completely take you out of the fight. I’m definitely looking forward to our first underway. It’s going to be very fast paced. My change of command is Nov. 1. Then we’re gonna get underway a week later. I’m really looking forward to being on a US Naval warship, going out to sea in command. It’s an amazing feeling being out to sea. I can’t put into words how awesome it is.
Defender: What was it about naval service or military service in general that really spoke to you as a young man?
Lewis: From the time I was in elementary school until going to Texas A&M my grandmother always encouraged me to join the military. In fact, it was not just me, she told my brother and all my cousins too. Her sons each served in a branch of the military and one of her daughters, my aunt; married an Army Helicopter pilot. I knew from the seed she planted that I would serve our country and the sea service resonated with me the most. To date joining the Navy has been one of the most personally and professionally rewarding decisions that I have made.
