Carl Brashear

Infobox Military Person
name= Carl Brashear
born= birth date|1931|1|19
died= death date and age|2006|7|25|1931|1|19
placeofbirth= Tonieville, Kentucky
placeofdeath= Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia


caption= MCBM Carl Brashear along with Cuba Gooding, Jr. on the set of "Men of Honor"
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Navy
serviceyears= 1948-1979
rank= Master Chief Petty Officer
commands=
unit=
battles=
awards= Navy and Marine Corps Medal
laterwork=

Carl Maxie Brashear (January 19 1931 – July 25 2006) was the first African American to become a U.S. Navy Master Diver in 1970. In 2000, Brashear's military service was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film "Men of Honor".

Biography

Brashear was born in Tonieville, Larue County, Kentucky, the child of sharecroppers, McDonald and Gonzella Brashear. cite news
coauthors = Dorsey, Jack and Jim Washington
url = http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=108110&ran=175615
accessdate = 2006-07-26
title = Pioneering Navy diver Carl Brashear dies in Portsmouth
work = The Virginian-Pilot |page=A1
date = July 26, 2006
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071102215001rn_1/content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=108110&ran=175615
archivedate=2007-11-02] U.S. Navy profile, NHC, 2001.] He attended Sonora Grade School, Sonora, Kentucky from 1937 to 1946.

U.S. Navy career

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 U.S. Navy Diving & Salvage School. In World War II there were 3 African-American U.S. Navy divers; however, none reached the status of U.S. Navy Master Diver.Fact|date=September 2008 Master Chief Brashear was the first African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver. He was also the first amputee diver to be certified or recertified as a U.S. Navy diver.

Leg amputation and recovery

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 Palomares hydrogen bombs incident. The Navy was called in to find and recover the bomb; and after 2-1/2 months of searching, the bomb was found.cite web
url=http://www.usni.org/oralhistory/B/brashear_excerpt.htm
title=Oral History of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl M. Brashear, USN (Ret.)
publisher=U.S. Naval Institute
date=17 November 1989
accessdate=2006-07-30] 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. [Reel Faces.] 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. [cite web
url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq105-1.htm
title=Transcript of Service
work=U.S. Navy profile
publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy
accessdate=2006-07-30] 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.cite news |first = Dave |last = Forster |author = |coauthors = |url = http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=108380&ran=217257 |title = Navy pioneer's life, career led by determination |work = |publisher = The Virginian-Pilot |pages = A1, A10 |date = 2006-07-30 |accessdate = 2006-07-30 ] Brashear was motivated by his beliefs that "It's not a sin to get knocked down; it's a sin to stay down" and "I ain't going to let nobody steal my dream". Brashear never asked for special favors, he just wanted his chance.cite news|title=Navy Ship Named For Diving Pioneer|last=Wiltrout|first=Kate|date=2008-09-19|work=The Virginian Pilot|pages=Hampton Roads 1-2|accessdate=2008-09-19]

Retirement

Brashear retired from the U.S. Navy on April 1, 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.

Personal life

Brashear married and divorced three times: Junetta Wilcoxson (1952-1978), Hattie R. Elam (1980-1983), and Jeanette A. Brundage (1985-1987). He had four children: Shazanta, DaWayne, Phillip, and Patrick. Brashear's nephew is Washington Capitals LW Donald Brashear.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. played the role of Brashear in Men of Honor, a movie inspired by the true story of Brashear.

Brashear died of respiratory and heart failure at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia on July 25, 2006.

Carl Brashear Foundation

After his death, his sons DaWayne and Phillip Brashear started the [http://www.carlbrashear.org Carl Brashear Foundation] in his honor.

Decorations and medals

*Navy and Marine Corps Medal
*Navy Commendation Medal
*Navy Achievement Medal
*Navy Good Conduct Medal (w/1 silver and 2 bronze service stars)
*National Defense Service Medal
*Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
*China Service Medal
*Korean Service Medal
*Navy Occupation Service Medal
*Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
*United Nations Service Medal
*Korean War Service Medal

Honors

In October 2000, Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, was honored with (center), an Outstanding Public Service Award 42 years of combined military and federal civilian service, presented by Secretary of Defense, William Cohen.

On October 24, 2007, the [http://www.nngov.com/fire Newport News, Virginia Fire Department] dedicated a convert|30|ft|m|sing=on high-speed fireboat named "Carl Brashear" to be used by their Dive and Marine Incident Response Teams.

The planned "Lewis and Clark" class dry cargo ship USNS "Carl Brashear" (T-AKE-7) was christened in September 2008 in San Diego, California on September 18, 2008 in his honor. [cite web
url=http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=35405 |title= Navy Secretary Names Two New Auxiliary Dry Cargo Ships |work=Press release|publisher= Department of Defense|accessdate=2008-03-10] cite web|url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/480401|title=Navy to christen ship today honoring diver Carl Brashear|date=2008-09-15|publisher=Hampton Roads.com|accessdate=2008-09-19]

ee also

*List of African American firsts

Notes

References

*Stillwell, Paul. "The Reminiscences of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Brashear". Annapolis, MD: "United States Institute". 1998.
*cite web|url=http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/menofhonor.php
title=Carl Brashear — Men of Honor
work=Reel Faces
accessdate=2006-06-22 Facts & fiction — real life versus the movie.
*cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq105-1.htm
title=Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Maxie Brashear, USN (Ret.)
publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy
accessdate=2004-11-25 Brashear's NHC profile.
*cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/25/brashear.obit.ap/index.html
publisher=CNN
title= Inspiration for 'Men of Honor' dies, Carl Brashear was first black U.S. Navy diver
date=July 25, 2006
accessdate=2006-07-26
*cite news
url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/NEWS0104/607260521/1008/NEWS01 |work=Louisville Courier-Journal
title=Kentuckian Carl Brashear, first black Navy diver, dies
date=July 26, 2006
author=Michael Felberbaum
accessdate=2006-07-26
* [http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/131-12292005-590450.html Brashear has a Pedigree of Greatness]
* [http://cms.firehouse.com/content/apparatus/detail.jsp?id=46272 Firehouse.com "Unit Bio -- Fireboat-1 Carl Brashear"]
* [http://www.hamptonroads.tv/adv_search_embed.cfm?e=134871&keyword=&section=&source= Hampton Roads TV] , October 24, 2007.

External links

*cite web|accessdate=2008-08-17
url=http://www.afspc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123041850
title=Direction, Discipline, Determination: The Story of Carl Brashear
author=Pringle, Capt. Shuan
date=February 21, 2001
publisher=Air Force Space Command, United States Air Force