Carl Brashear has always loved the water. As a child, swimming was his favorite activity. Sometimes he would skip school and head for the nearest swimming hole. When Brashear reached the 7th grade, he dropped out of school and worked at a gas station. He soon realized he needed to be near water. In 1948, at age 17, Brashear joined the U.S. Navy as a steward. When he watched Navy divers from the deck of his ship, he knew what he wanted to do with his life: he wanted to become a diver. Brashear graduated from the U.S. Navy Diving and Salvage School in 1954, becoming the first African American to attend and graduate from the Diving & Salvage School. He also is the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver. Brashear was serving aboard the USS Hoist (ARS-40) in 1966 when it was called in to find and recover a missing bomb for the Air Force. The bomb was found but during the 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.  Doctors amputated the lower portion of his leg. After a long rehabilitation, Brashear 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, achieving the rank of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate. Brashear's story has motivated many with the help of a movie that told his story. Cuba Gooding Jr. played Brashear in the 2000 movie "Men of Honor."