Carl Brashear, seen here as a master chief petty officer, poses for an official photo. Brashear enlisted in the Navy in 1948, shortly after the Navy had desegregated. In the face of widespread racial discrimination, he graduated from the U.S. Navy Diving & Salvage School in 1954, becoming the first African American to do so. (Photo courtesy/Chief Warrant Officer 4 Phillip Brashear)