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Virginia Beach, Va. (July 29, 2006) A portrait of Master Chief Boatswains Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear sits next to his casket during a memorial service held at the base Chapel aboard Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, July 29. Brashear joined the United States Navy in 1948 at the age of 17. He was a pioneer in the Navy as the first black deep-sea diver, the first black Master Diver and the first Navy diver in naval history to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation. He died July 25, at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., of heart and respiratory failure. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew D. Leistikow (RELEASED)
