Know about Shazanta Brashear, son of the first Master Diver, Carl Brashear
Shazanta Brashear is known to the world because of his father, Carl Brashear, the Navy’s first black master deep-sea diver.
Shazanta Brashear’s Family
Shazanta Brashear was born to Carl Brashear and Junetta Wilcoxson in Queens County, New York, United States. Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Carl Maxie Brashear was born on January 19, 1931, in Tonieville, Kentucky, and was the sixth of 16 children to Gonzella Brashear and McDonald Brashear. Carl came from a poor family. His parents were sharecroppers and harvested tobacco, wheat, and corn. In 1952, Carl married Junetta Wilcoxson, born on June 10th, 1933 to Walton and Cora Wilcoxson.
Junetta gave birth to Shazanta Brashear on 17th May 1955. She had three more sons named Dawayne Brashear, born on January 16, 1957, Phillip M. Brashear, born on July 4, 1962, and Patrick S. Brashear, born on July 31, 1964. Carl and Junetta divorced in 1978. Carl married two more times to Hattie R. Elam (1980-1983), and Jeanette A. Brundage (1985-1987) respectively, however, none of these marriages lasted long. Shazanta married Phyllis Marie Darden, on 12th December 1980, in Portsmouth Virginia, and had a son named Randy.
Shazanta passed away on July 13, 1996, at age 41. His father, Carl died of respiratory and heart failure, on July 25, 2006, and his mother, Junetta died in May 2015.
Shazanta Brashear’s Net Worth
Shazanta Brashear led a very private life and not much information about his career and net worth is available on the web but it is known that he was a former part-time newspaper carrier for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. His mother, Junetta Brashear was an employee at the Naval
Exchange cafeteria located at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, and a paper route supervisor for the Virginian Pilot newspaper.
Shazanta’s father, Carl Brashear was a United States Navy sailor and the first African American black master deep-sea diver. He helped recover a missing bomb for the air force, which led to his receiving the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. In 1966 he was assigned to recover a hydrogen bomb that fell into the sea off the coast of Spain after two US Air Force planes collided. His left leg was injured, later amputated, and replaced with a prosthetic leg. He was the first Navy diver to return to full active duty as an amputee.
The 31-year Navy veteran, Carl, retired in 1979 as a master chief boatswain’s mate, the highest enlisted rank in the Navy. He was honored with the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in October 2000 for 42 years of combined military and federal civilian service. “Men of Honor” is a biopic movie inspired by his life. He was a war hero and had a net worth of approx. $7 million at the time of his death. After his death, his sons DaWayne & Phillip started the Carl Brashear Foundation in his honor.
