Master Diver Carl M. Brashear 1931 -2006

As leader of the blackmilitaryworld.com effort, I am proud to announce that this site is dedicated to the memory of the late Master Diver Carl Brashear who died on July 25, 2006, at the age of 75.

The inspiring story of this true legend was told in the hit movie Men of Honor which starred Ocsar winners Cuba Gooding, Jr., Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron and a host of other well-known stars. The driving force behind the production of Men of Honor was former Navy sailor and televison icon Bill Cosby.

Carl Brashear was the U.S. Navy’s first Black deep sea diver. Years later, he achieved the status of Navy Master Diver, a rank reached by only a handful of the best divers in U.S. Naval diving history. But what makes Brashear’s accomplishment so unique is that he did it with only a 7th grade education while having to surmount institutional racism in the Navy and the loss of a leg incurred while saving the life of another sailor. I feel qualified to talk about Carl Brashear and Navy diving because I knew Master Diver Brashear personally and was myself a Black Navy diver throughout my 21-year naval career. When I entered Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) in 1979, I read about Carl Brashear or “Mr. Navy” as he was often called. During that time, he was featured in several publications and made several national television appearances on shows such as That’s Incredible. 
 

Although I was captivated by his story, I didn’t fully appreciate his accomplishments until I entered Navy Diving School after OCS in 1980. Located in Florida, the school was staffed by the best U.S. Navy divers. None were more highly respected than the two Master Divers who were stationed there. They didn’t personally teach classes, and as students, we rarely saw them. Nevertheless, before we trained in the water each day, we had to have their blessing.

My class was composed of 37 junior officers from not only the U.S. Navy, but also from the navies of several other countries. Like Brashear, I was the only Black student. In 1980, to my surprise, I was treated no differently than any other student in the class, unlike the prejudiced treatment Brashear experienced. Both my instructors and I were more concerned about my borderline swimming skills than the color of my skin.

I could only imagine what my chances of success would have been had I been forced to face the intense racial hatred that Brashear experienced. I once met a retired diver who was assigned to the school when Brashear was a student. He revealed that even though Brashear struggled with academic exams, instructors were known to purposely mark correct answers “wrong” when grading his exams. They were convinced that Blacks did not belong in the Navy diving program. Brashear even faced openly stated threats of being “accidentally” drowned by his classmates and instructors. I feared drowning on my own, much less with the “assistance” of my comrades!

My favorite memories of diving school were the Friday night happy hours at the bar located near the school. We students would drink brew and listen to the old-timers, mostly retired divers. Occasionally, we were treated to visits by Master Divers. Stories of diving in bloody Pearl Harbor after the attack in 1941 and of gruesome ocean plane crashes enthralled us all. We were young, impressionable, and all a wee bit misaligned upstairs.

One Friday night, I remember asking a Master Diver and a group of other old-timers about Master Diver Brashear. Suddenly the room was silent and all eyes were riveted on me. After a moment, the Master Diver looked at me and smiled.

“Brashear….a damn good man,” snorted the Master before taking a gulp of brew. And then he farted, right out loud. I couldn’t believe it!

“Yeah, Brashear….now that’s one tough son-of-a-b****,” another old-timer chimed in while shaking his head in agreement. Then he unleashed a long, resonant belch.

Alas, I was being treated to a healthy dose of deep sea diver etiquette where belches and farts usually went unnoticed, except when someone ripped a real “sinus bender.” Such “offerings” were usually greeted with cheers. They took me back to my fishing worm eatin’ and snake huntin’ days growing up in the backwoods of Kentucky. Hell son, these were my kind of guys. In this world, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, and champagne glasses were all about as worthless as a fist full of camel snot.

After 16 weeks of intensive training, dropouts, injuries, and course failures had whittled our class size from 37 to 14. Once, after nearly drowning, I decided to call it quits myself. Fortunately, my classmates intervened and encouraged me to stay in the program. I was also sidelined for two weeks due to an injury. Through all of these trials and setbacks, I would remember Carl Brashear’s struggles and smile, suck it up, and keep going forward. I am sure that every other African American who graduated from Navy diving school had similar experiences. I did graduate and was certified as a Deep Sea Diving Officer in 1980. At the top of my list of career goals was to someday meet Carl Brashear, the man that inspired my success, face-to-face.

Over my career, I’ve worked with other Black divers, although the numbers were very few. Like me, all are aware of Master Diver Carl Brashear and the hardships and struggles that he endured to pave a way for us to dive. Brashear even paved the way for four other Black Master Divers. Three of whom appear below.

Master Divers / Master Chiefs , J. Lamont King (l), J. J. Fenwick (c), and Mike Washington (r). Among the world's best! (They proudly display a group picture of themselves with Master Diver Brashear.)

 
During the late 1980’s, I met a tall, impressive looking Navy pilot at a party in Virginia Beach. When I told him that I was a diving officer, he responded that his father was also a Navy diver. I was shocked to subsequently learn that I was speaking to one of Carl Brashear’s sons! He told me that Carl also lived in Virginia Beach and that he could arrange a meeting. Unfortunately, the meeting never materialized.

Finally, after I retired in 2000, my dream of meeting Master Diver Brashear became a reality. While Men of Honor was in production, I contacted him and humbly requested an interview for an article I was writing. I was speechless when he agreed and invited me to his Virginia Beach home. To my surprise and delight, he added that he had heard of me and that he was under the impression that I was the Navy’s first Black Diving Officer. I told him that I was actually the third or fourth African American to reach that position. A week later we met, and we spent the day discussing diving and Kentucky, our mutual home state. He was one of the nicest, most polite men I had ever met. I left thinking that I had been in the presence of a legend, and, of course, I had been.
 

Carl Brashear greets another diving first;
LCDR Sonya N. Waters, M.D., the Navy's first and only Black female Diving Medical Officer.

I was fortunate to meet with Master Diver Brashear on a couple of subsequent occasions. And you know, as I recall...I never saw him without his broad smile.

During the premier of Men of Honor, a group of us Black Divers made an attempt to meet with Carl to thank him for paving the way for us, but unfortunately, this meeting never came to fruition. It is with this in mind that I dedicate this site to the memory of Master Diver Carl Brashear. Thank you Master Diver...farewell my brother...farewell.

Myself (l), Master Diver Brashear, and mutual friend, Army retired Edgar Brookings (r) , Manager of the Washington DC AFRO Newspaper. at a 2001 banquet in Washington D.C.

I’d like to add that the Carl Brashear story is but one of several incredible stories of African Americans who paved the way for all of us to embark upon careers in areas that took legends to pioneer. These stories must be told and that’s why this site is so important. If you agree, consider taking a moment to send a comment along to us. We're on a mission because the many Carl Brashears that brighten our often dim past cannot be forgotten.

God Bless You and thanks for your support!

CDR Retired Gregory Black,
Black Military World