Truly A Man Of Honor

Master Chief Carl Brashear, the African-American Navy diver who was the inspiration for the movie "Men of Honor", passed away Tuesday at age 75. He truly lived life to the fullest, and is an example to all those who strive to excel in spite of everything seemingly arrayed against them.

Sailor, Rest Your Oar...

Update 2246 26 July: From the CNO's statement on the passing of Master Chief Brashear:

... It would be easy in remembering his incredible life to focus on one aspect or another - his humble, yet proud, beginnings in rural Kentucky; the discrimination he suffered at the hands of racist superiors and colleagues; the list of all the “firsts” he accomplished in the dangerous world of Navy diving; the raw, physical courage he exhibited in overcoming what would be for many a debilitating injury.
But focusing only on such things would be shortsighted. For in doing so we obscure from history and from our heritage the real greatness of the man. We must - as he always did - look at the whole, not at the parts.
Carl Brashear wasn’t just a trailblazing African-American. He wasn’t just a superb and skilled diver. He was a good husband and father...a patriot...a leader. He was a friend who friends cherished, and a Sailor who Sailors admired. He represented in his poise and in his character something larger and more dignified than the trappings of military rank and position, no matter how hard-earned they proved to be.
Put simply, Carl Brashear was the very best of men. He was living proof that, in a world which can at times be unfair and uncompromising, persistence and sheer determination trumps all...