Master Diver Carl Brashear At The U.S. Naval Undersea Museum

These certificates and photographs belonged to Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Carl Brashear, the Navy’s first African-American Master Diver and first amputee diver. Brashear graduated from salvage dive school in 1955 and deep-sea diving school in 1964, despite experiencing harassment, hazing, and other threats. In 1966, while taking part in the recovery of a lost hydrogen bomb, he was struck in the leg by a steel pipe as he pushed another Sailor out of harm’s way. Brashear elected to amputate his leg after learning the injury could take up to four years to heal. After a strenuous year of rehabilitation, he qualified as the first black Master Diver in 1970. His perseverance and determination were memorialized in the 2000 film “Men of Honor,” which chronicles his remarkable story. Brashear retired from the Navy in 1979 with 31 years of service. He died in 2006 at the age of 75. Special thanks to the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum for providing these images. For more information and additional images, please visit their website at http://www.navalunderseamuseum.org/