Updated 2:39 p.m.
A 32-year-old man from Queens was one of two Navy SEALs who died in a training accident in a swimming pool at a Virginia base.
Special Warfare Operator First Class Seth Cody Lewis died shortly after the April 24 incident at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia, according to Naval Special Warfare Group TWO.
Lewis was found that day along with Brett Allen Marihugh, 34, of Livonia, Michigan, unresponsive at the bottom of a pool at the base’s Combat Swimming Training Facility, media reports said. Marihugh, who was also special warfare operator 1st class, died from his injuries on Sunday.
“This tragic loss is very unfortunate and our thoughts and our prayers are with the families, friends and teammates during this difficult time,” Capt. Pete Vasely, commander, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO, said in a statement. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.”
Lewis enlisted in the Navy in December 2006 after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2001 to 2005. He was deployed several times to Afghanistan and Iraq, and had earned numerous medals, including the the Bronze Star with Combat Valor, Purple Heart, U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Valor and the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Valor.
According to the Daily News, Lewis grew up in Richmond Hill with his mother who raised him alone after his father passed away when he was 4.
“He was an excellent Marine and even more excellent Navy SEAL. A 9-to-5 job was not his thing,” his 58-year-old mother, Betty Rose Lewis, told the Daily News.
“He’s a beautiful son, just a great human being. Everyone loved being around him. People were so attracted to him. They just wanted to be his friend, know him in some capacity,” she continued.
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