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Chief Carl Maxie Brashear |
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(1931 - )
Men of Honor
Carl Brashear was the first African American Master Diver in the U.S. Navy, despite a crippling injury.
He was born in Tonneyville, Kentucky on January 19, 1931 to a sharecropper family and raised in Sonora, Kentucky. Master Chief Brashear joined the Navy in February 1948 at the age of 17.
Confined to the galley, like most Blacks and Filipinos of the era, Master Chief Brashear decided to make deep-sea diving his profession which was unheard of for a Black American sailor at the time.
He was admitted to the Navy Dive School and overcame a seventh grade education to have a notable career as a navy diver. In 1966, he was badly injured in an accident during the recovery of a nuclear warhead in the Mediterranean. Surgeons had to amputate his left leg below his knee. Master Chief Brashear refused to submit to medical survey boards in an attempt to retire him as unfit for duty. He demonstrated that he could still dive and perform other duties. In 1970, Master Chief Carl Brashear qualified as the first Black master diver in the history of the U.S. Navy.
In 1998, he became one of only seven enlisted men to be enshrined in the naval archives.
Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Maxie Brashear, USN (Ret.)
Personal Data
Born: January 19, 1931, Tonieville, Larue County, Kentucky
Parents: McDonald and Gonzella Brashear
Married: Junetta Wilcoxson in 1952; divorced in 1978
Hattie R. Elam in 1980; divorced in 1983
Jeanette A. Brundage in 1985; divorced in 1987
Children: Shazanta Brashear, born on May 17, 1955; died 13 July 1996
DaWayne Brashear, born on January 16, 1957
Phillip M. Brashear, born on July 4, 1962
Patrick S. Brashear, born on July 31, 1964
Education: Sonora Grade School, Sonora, Kentucky, 1937-46
Passed GED test in U.S. Navy, 1960
Charles County Community College, Great Mills, Maryland, 1980-82
Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1983
Dates of Rates
Seaman Recruit (E-1) through Boatswain's Mate First Class (E-6), 1948-55
Chief Boatswain's Mate (E-7), 1960-66
Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate (E-8), 1966-71
Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (E-9), 1971-79
Dates of Diving Specialties
Salvage Diver, 1953-60
Second Class Diver, 1960-64
First Class Diver, 1964-70
Saturation Diver, 1970-79
Master Diver, 1970-79
Decorations and Medals
Good Conduct Medal (eight awards)
Navy Commendation Medal
Navy Achievement Medal
National Defense Service Medal
China Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Occupation Service Medal
Transcript of Service
February 25, 1948
Enlisted in the U.S. Navy
February-May 1948
Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois--Recruit Training
May 1948-June 1950
Squadron VX-1, Key West, Florida--Officers' Mess; PBM Beachmaster Unit
June 1950-November 1951
USS Palau (CVE-122)--Deck Division; Motor Whaleboat Coxswain
November 1951-March 1955
USS Tripoli (CVE-64)--Second Division Petty Officer; Master-at-Arms; Temporary Additional Duty at Salvage Diving School
March 1955-June 1956
USS Opportune (ARS-41)--Deck Division; Salvage Diver; Section Leader; Repair Party Leader
June 1956-June 1958
Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island--Leading Petty Officer; Salvage Diver; Escort for President Dwight D. Eisenhower
June 1958-July 1960
Ship Repair Facility, Guam, Marianas Islands--Salvage Diver; Skipper of Yard Salvage Derrick
July-September 1960
Deep-Sea Diving School, Washington, D.C.--Student, failed the course
September 1960-March 1961
USS Nereus (AS-17)--Deck Division Chief Boatswain's Mate
March 1961-April 1962
Fleet Training Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii--Chief Master-at-Arms; Requalified as Second Class Diver; Temporary Additional Duty with Joint Task Force Eight
April 1962-October 1963
USS Coucal (ASR-8)--Ship's Chief Boatswain's Mate; Second Class Diver; Underway Officer of the Deck; In-Port Duty Chief
October 1963-June 1964
Deep-Sea Diving School, Washington, D.C.--Student, graduated as First Class Diver
June 1964-September 1965
USS Shakori (ATF-162)--Ship's Chief Boatswain's Mate; Leading Diver; Underway Officer of the Deck
September 1965-March 1966
USS Hoist (ARS-40)--Ship's Chief Boatswain's Mate; Acting Master Diver; Underway Officer of the Deck; Repair Party Leader; In-Port Duty Chief
May 1966-March 1967
Naval Regional Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia--Treatment following the amputation of left leg below the knee
March 1967-March 1968
Harbor Clearance Unit Two--Under Evaluation at Diving School for return to full active duty and diving
March 1968-December 1969
Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia--Leading Chief Petty Officer; Leading Diver
December 1969-June 1970
Experimental Diving Unit, Deep-Sea Diving School, Washington, D.C.--Saturation Diver; Master Diver Evaluation
June 1970-May 1971
USS Hunley (AS-31)--Master Diver; R-7 Division Officer; In-Port Officer of the Deck; Minority Affairs Officer
May 1971-June 1975
USS Recovery (ARS-43)--Master Diver; Work Center Supervisor; Command Master Chief; Repair Party Leader; Underway Officer of the Deck; In-Port Command Duty Officer
June 1975-June 1977
Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, Virginia--Master Diver
June 1977-October 1978
USS Recovery (ARS-43)--Master Diver; Work Center Supervisor; Command Master Chief; Enlisted Watch Officer; Repair Party Leader; Underway Officer of the Deck; In-Port Command Duty Officer
October 1978-March 1979
Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity, Norfolk, Virginia--Master Diver
April 1, 1979
Retired from the U.S. Navy as a master chief petty officer and master diver
Civilian Employment
April 1979-August 1980: QED Systems, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia--Diving Study for the Royal Saudi Navy; USS Forrestal (CV-59) Service Life Extension Program
February-November 1982: CDI Marine Company, Chesapeake, Virginia--Engineering Technician
November 1982-January 1993: Naval Communication Area Master Station Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia--Environmental Protection Specialist; Energy Conservation Specialist
January 1993: Retired from government service in the grade of GS-11 Source: Stillwell, Paul. The Reminiscences of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Brashear. Annapolis MD: United States Institute, 1998.
Return to African Americans and the U. S. Navy
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