U. S. Navy Ship Named for ‘Men of Honor’ Hero; USNS Carl Brashear Honors First Black Master Diver

By Eric AddisonNNPA Special Correspondent SAN DIEGO (NNPA) – The morning sun shone hot on the guests assembled on the high, crowded platform and DaWayne Brashear was “walking on clouds.” About 20 yards away, a huge ship bearing the letters T-AKE and the number 7 stood like a skyscraper laid on its side, on a ramp that sloped gently down toward San Diego Bay. Around him, at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, members of his family mingled with reporters, with current and retired military, elected and corporate officials, and with Hollywood luminaries, including Robert De Niro, among others. The festive occasion for the diverse group was the christening and launch of the USNS Carl Brashear, named for DaWayne Brashear’s father, the U.S. Navy’s first Black master diver. Carl M. Brashear’s story was told in the 2000 movie “Men of Honor.” “We thought that having a movie made about his life might be the pinnacle, but I think this has pretty much exceeded that,” said DaWayne Brashear. He and his brother Phillip have worked to keep their father’s values alive through the Carl Brashear Foundation, which they established. “All my dad wanted was to do his duty, honor the Navy and be the best diver that he could possibly be. And I don’t think in his wildest dreams he thought he would have this honor bestowed on him. But here we are.” Carl B. Mack, executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers, expressed the sentiment of many of the guests. “I am absolutely blown away by the magnitude of this event,” said Mack. Few who know Carl Brashear’s story – either from firsthand experience or from Cuba Gooding Jr.’s and Robert De Niro’s big-screen portrayals – would disagree about how unlikely this true plotline seems. Born on a sharecropper farm in Tonieville, Ky., in 1931, Brashear dropped out of school after the seventh grade to work in his family’s tobacco, corn and wheat fields. At age 17, in 1948, he joined the Navy and was assigned to the officer’s mess (dining hall), the same year that President Truman ordered the desegregation of U.S. armed forces. After seeing some Navy divers at work in 1950, Brashear started writing letters requesting admission to the Navy salvage diving school. His letters went unanswered, but he kept at it until he was admitted in 1954. As the only Black student at the school, Brashear was harassed and had his life threatened by his classmates and some commanding officers. But, again, his determination brought him through. He graduated the next year and began working as a salvage diver, recovering sunken aircraft, ships and ammunition. He got his general equivalency diploma in 1960, went into the Navy’s deep-sea diving school and, after many attempts, passed the school’s science tests and graduated in 1964. In 1966, he lost a leg in a diving mission in which he saved another diver from injury. But after incredibly arduous physical therapy, bucking the Navy’s rules, he convinced the doctors to clear him for diving duty. In 1970, Brashear became a master diver. He retired from the Navy in 1979 and passed away in 2006. “I christen you the USNS Carl Brashear.” With those words and one strong swing, Lauren E. Brashear, DaWayne’s daughter and Carl’s eldest granddaughter, broke a bottle of champagne on the hull of the ship. Then she, her mother, Linda R. Watkins-Brashear; her aunt Sandra E. Brashear; and DaWayne’s partner, Joy S. Harris, gave a symbolic push, and the Navy’s newest auxiliary dry cargo vessel slid down the ramp and into the bay, with horns blaring and red, white and blue balloons and streamers flying. The 689-foot, 42,000-ton, diesel-powered ship – part of the Military Sealift Command fleet – will be manned primarily by civil service and civilian mariners and will carry everything needed to supply Navy warships. Having a Navy ship with her family’s name is “a blessing and an honor,” said Lauren Brashear, 23. “But at the same time, I know that without Granddaddy going through all the things he went through, I would not be standing here. So I am thankful to him, and I just hope I can honor him as he should be honored.” Before the christening and launch, Navy officers, including Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Joe R. Campa and Command Master Chief Kenneth Green of the Military Sealift Command, spoke about the historical significance of the day. “…What a great day for you, your family and our Navy,” said Adm. Roughead, addressing Lauren Brashear, who is the “sponsor” of the ship named in honor of her grandfather. “Christening a ship imbues it with the character of its namesake and its sponsor. It is an affirmation of our beliefs and our values.” Command Master Chief Green, who is African-American, described Carl Brashear’s influence from a Black perspective. “Four decades ago, when I was a boy growing up in the segregated South, it was Black men like Carl Brashear who were the inspiration of ‘colored people’ like me,” Master Chief Green said. “The media didn’t readily cover the heroic contributions and brave acts of great men like Carl Brashear. But you can bet on Sunday mornings at church services, we got to hear of the acts that made ‘us’ as a race of colored people proud of heroes like Carl Brashear.” Three Black men who were directly influenced by Carl Brashear’s work attended the ceremonies in his honor: Retired Master Navy Divers James Fenwick, Mike Washington and Lamont King were all mentored by Brashear. “This is the apex of my Naval career and my life, because Carl was my mentor. It can’t get any better than this,” said Fenwick, who spent 25 years in the Navy. “Looking around here today and seeing all these admirals and captains of color makes all of the trials and tribulations we went through worthwhile. It’s good to know we were a steppingstone for them.” Rear Adm. Arthur J. Johnson is a 1979 Naval Academy graduate and one of those admirals of color Fenwick saw at the launch. He described the events in honor of Brashear as “living history.” “For all of us who are just coming along, this is a chance to brush with the people who have paved the path that allows us to do what we’re doing today,” Rear Adm. Johnson said. “Attending events like this is a refueling stop for me. It puts a little more gas in my tank. I can run a little bit farther and a little bit harder, trying to make things happen for the Navy and for our nation.” DaWayne Brashear sees a broader benefit of the recognition his father has received. “Let me tell you something, every time somebody finds out that I’m my father’s son, they immediately stand a little taller and want to shake my hand, and I’m talking about gang bangers to college students,” he says. “That’s one reason why we’ve started this foundation for my dad. We just want to do things in the community. “I live in the inner city, in Newark, N.J., in ‘The Bricks,’ they call it. And his story is very inspirational to all people,” DaWayne Brashear says, “not just to young Black people, but to all people.” Eric Addison is editorial consultant for the National Society of Black Engineers.