Carl Brashear was an African-American man struggling to make a living in the 1940s like most people of his race. He dropped out of school in the seventh grade to help his father and family get through hard times. His father inspired him to succeed and become something better than a sharecropper. Opportunity knocked when President Harry S. Truman desegregated the military to allow blacks and other races to enlist. With his father's words of wisdom in mind, Carl signed up for the navy in hopes to turn into something great. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy.
Carl was thrown into the kitchen to work alongside of the other Negroes and slave over a stove day in and day out. They weren't allowed to go on deck or mingle with the other white sailors. It was even consideredwrong? of them to take a swim in the ocean when it was hot. Carl's peaceful act of defiance won him another opportunity to be accepted at Diving School.
It was there where he got to meet Master Chief Navy Diver, Billy Sunday for the first time. When Carl first saw Sunday on the U.S.S. Hoist and his take-charge attitude made Carl admire him somewhat. But that didn't seem to faze the Master Chief one bit. He taunted and teased Carl, hoping that he would eventually lose hope and quit. He did nothing when the other white sailors provoked Carl and left threatening messages on his cot.
The only friend Carl seemed to have was a stuttering, white sailor who was not ashamed to be seen with him. Sunday punishes the sailor however and kicks him out of the training program. Carl later returns the favor and challenges Sunday to allow him back in. Carl's only other ally is a librarian named Junetta Wilcoxson, who later becomes his wife and mother of his child. She helps educate him and succeed on the proficiency tests necessary to become a diver.
On the day of the final test, Carl's tools are sabotaged and he spends nine hours underwater in freezing temperatures to complete it.