USS Louisiana Gold Gives Tour to ‘Boy of the Year’

Photo By Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Takada | BANGOR, Wash. (June 28, 2016) – Cmdr. Melvyn Naidas, USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) Gold Crew commanding officer, presents Hunter Smith, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Boy of the Year," with a plaque from the crew during a tour of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine at Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor. Smith, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age two, was declared cancer-free in 2012 and aspires to become a Sailor when he grows up. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Kenneth G. Takada/Released)  

BANGOR, WA, UNITED STATES

06.28.2016

Story by Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Takada 

Commander, Submarine Group Nine   

Not many nine-year-old children get an opportunity to tour an active submarine, but the crew of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) (Gold) provided Hunter Smith, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Boy of the Year, with a tour of the submarine at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor, June 28.

Smith was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells in 2008, at the age of two. He completed three and a half years of treatment, which included three surgeries, daily rounds of chemotherapy, and spinal taps; he has been successfully out of treatment since 2012. In May 2016, he was honored as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Boy of the Year through a process which included a list of children that were also similarly afflicted.

Smith wants to become a Sailor when he grows up, so through the coordination of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Washington/Alaska Chapter and the Navy, a tour of USS Louisiana was arranged for him.

The tour included visiting the torpedo room, missile compartment, crew’s mess, navigation and control, the crew’s berthing and the chief petty officer’s quarters, to get a taste of life as a submariner.

His visit to the submarine concluded with a stop at the captain’s stateroom where Cmdr. Melvyn Naidas, Louisiana Gold’s commanding officer, presented him with an admiral’s command ball cap, his personal challenge coin, the Chief’s Quarter’s coin, and a custom-made plaque from the crew of Louisiana Gold.

“This boy is easily the bravest person on board,” said Naidas. “In his short life, he's overcome a lot and it’s tours like these that are my favorite, when we get a chance to show heroes like Hunter what it is that we do.”

“My favorite part was when I got to meet the captain, he told me that because I have an admiral’s hat, I outrank him,” said Smith. “It was so awesome!"

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was founded in 1949 as a voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer reserve, education, and patient services.

• Date Taken: 06.28.2016
• Date Posted: 07.05.2016 16:08
• Story ID: 203136
• Location: BANGOR, WA, US
• Hometown: PORT ORCHARD, WA, US