Carl Maxie Brashear (January 19, 1931 – July 25, 2006) was the first African American to become a U.S. Navy Master Diver in the early 1950s. In 2000, Brashear's military service was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film Men of Honor.
Brashear was born in Tonieville, Larue County, Kentucky, the child of sharecroppers.
Brashear enlisted in the U.S. Navy on February 25, 1948, shortly after the Navy had desegregated. He graduated from diving school in 1954, becoming a U.S. Navy Diver. He was not the first African-American U.S. Navy diver; he was, however, the first to attend and graduate from US Navy Diving & Salvage School. In WWII there were 3 African-American U.S. Navy divers, however, none reached the status of U.S. Navy Master Diver. Carl Brashear was the first African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver. He was also the first amputee diver to ever be certified or recertified as a U.S. Navy diver.
In January 1966, a hydrogen bomb was lost off the coast of Palomares, Spain after two U.S. Air Force planes collided during a refueling attempt. The Navy was called in to find and recover the bomb; and after 2-1/2 months of searching, the bomb was found. On March 23, 1966, during recovery operations, a line used for towing broke loose, causing a pipe to strike Brashear's left leg below the knee, nearly shearing it off. He was evacuated to Torrejon Air Base in Spain, then to Wiesbaden, Germany; and finally to the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. After persistent infections and necrosis, and facing years of recovery, Brashear convinced his doctors to amputate the lower portion of his leg.
Brashear remained at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Portsmouth from May 1966 until March 1967 recovering and rehabilitating from the amputations. From March 1967 to March 1968, Senior Chief Brashear was assigned to the Harbor Clearance Unit Two, Diving School, preparing for return to full active duty and diving. In April 1968, after a long struggle, he became the first amputee to be certified as a diver. In 1970, he became the first African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver, and served 10 more years beyond that, eventually achieving the rank of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate in 1971.
Brashear retired from the U.S. Navy in 1979 as a Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9) and Master Diver. He then served as a civilian employee for the government at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia and retired in 1993 with the grade of GS-11.
Brashear married three times: Junetta Wilcoxson in 1952; divorced in 1978, Hattie R. Elam in 1980; divorced in 1983, Jeanette A. Brundage in 1985; divorced in 1987. He had four children: Shazanta, DaWayne, Phillip, and Patrick. Brashear's nephew is Washington Capitals hockey player Donald Brashear.
Brashear died of respiratory and heart failure at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia on July 25, 2006.
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