Submariner from Gig Harbor dies of COVID-19 in Florida; GHHS grad Cody Myers was 26
A submarine sailor from Gig Harbor has died from complications of COVID-19, the Navy confirmed this week.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Cody Andrew-Godfredson Myers died Feb. 4 in Jacksonville, Fla. He was 26.
A 2013 graduate of Gig Harbor High School, Myers was a radioman on the submarine USS Tennessee. He leaves a wife and child.
“He was a versatile Swiss Army knife of a human being,” said Isaac Monroe, 26, a friend. “He had a great passion for sports, especially the Seahawks. He loved the arts, he loved musicals, he loved to sing, he loved to dance,” Munroe said. “He prioritized his family and his friends above himself.”
The sub on which Myers worked is based in Georgia and currently is undergoing maintenance at the Trident Refit Facility in Kings Bay, Ga. He had resided in nearby Kingsland, Ga., since 2018.
In a statement, the Navy said “Myers was admitted to the Naval Air Station Jacksonville Hospital on Saturday, Jan. 30, and transferred to University of Florida Hospital Shands Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Jacksonville Sunday, Jan. 31, where he subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.” He would die in the ICU four days later.
Contact with civilian
Lt. Stu Phillips, the spokesman for Submarine Group 10 at Kings Bay, told The Gateway that Myers came into contact with a civilian who later tested positive for COVID-19. Myers was subsequently quarantined on Jan. 18.
“The health and well-being of our sailors and their families are our top priority,” Phillips said. “To that end, unit and squadron leadership are focused on giving the best possible guidance and tools required to operate safely. The death of any sailor is a tragedy. I can assure you the possible impact of COVID-19 on those who deploy, regardless of age, has had the full attention of senior Navy leadership since this pandemic began.”
The Navy Times reported that Tennessee sailors are being supported by chaplains and embedded mental health specialists at Georgia’s Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.
Phillips said he couldn’t share what treatment is offered to those who contract COVID-19 citing privacy protections.
According to USNI News, one other active-duty sailor, two reservists, 47 Navy-employed civilians, 21 Navy contractors and one dependent have also died of the disease. A total of 50,598 COVID-19 cases have been reported, with 30,005 of those being military personnel.
Active in High School
Munroe, a longtime friend who grew up with Myers, said he was actively involved in many programs at Gig Harbor High School.
“He was a singer in Jazz Choir, he was a lead actor in all of the school musicals and plays,” Munroe said. “He did almost anything that you could imagine.”
Munroe said the last time he talked to Myers was on January 17.
“He was not faring well,” Munroe said. “The last conversation we had was him prioritizing his family first. He just felt like it was a cold. It was a tragic loss. It escalated much faster than you would expect.”
Phillips said a private memorial ceremony will be held locally in Georgia and that Myers’ body “will be received in the Northwest at a time to be determined in the future.”
“We are saddened by the loss of Petty Officer Myers who, in addition to being part of our Navy team, was also a son, husband and a father.”
Cody is survived by his wife, Mallory Myers, and their son, Asher Beckett Myers; his parents, Donald Myers and Cynthia Myers; one brother, Shane Beck; and two sisters, Amber Mattson and Loghan Myers.
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chase.hutchinson@thenewstribune.com
