“Love yourself, develop a positive attitude and work towards your dreams.”

These were the words of experience and inspiration shared by Carl Brashear, the first amputee to become a U.S. Navy Master Diver, Thursday evening in the Ohio Union Main Lounge.

“I don’t feel like I’m a hero. I feel like I had a goal to reach and a job to do,” Brashear said.

Brashear’s life story was also the inspiration for the 20th Century Fox film “Men of Honor” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert De Niro, released in November.

As a part of this year’s United Black World Month celebration, his address entitled, “I Had a Dream” was meant to inspire others to set goals and to maintain the focus needed to keep adversity from getting in the way of those goals.

“He clearly exemplifies taking control of your own destiny,” said Terina Mathews, interim coordinator for African American Student Services. “His story of tenacity shows how we can’t just stop where it’s comfortable for us. We need to take risks.”

His story begins in 1931 in Sonora, Ky.

The son of sharecropping parents, Brashear only received a seventh-grade education before joining the navy at age 17, the same year that President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ended all segregation in the U.S. military. Despite the order, blacks were assigned to serve as “stewards,” serving meals to naval and marine corps officers and cleaning their living quarters.

He knew if he was going to advance within the armed forces, he would have to further his education.

“It is imperative that everyone recognize the importance of education in today’s society,” Brashear said.

After earning his GED, he requested training as a diver, only to be denied time and time again.

According to Brashear, he was told that there were no “colored” deep-sea divers.

He was finally accepted into diving school in 1954.

According to Brashear, military life is not meant to be easy for anyone, but racism, doubt and disbelieving made it that much harder for him.

“The military is designed to place mental, physical and psychological pressure on any candidate, but the color of my skin added so much more,” Brashear said.

In 1966, during an operation to recover a nuclear warhead off of the coast of Spain, Brashear risked his own safety in order to save the lives of several men under his command. As a result, he lost the lower portion of his left leg. Although doctors advised against it, he requested amputation and the fitting of a prosthesis.

After convincing doctors that he was capable of diving, he began the task of convincing his superiors. Because there were no set guidelines for testing his abilities as an amputee diver, he was asked to go above and beyond what was normally required of officers.

According to Brashear, he was asked to perform excessive calisthenics and diving maneuvers. After excelling at each test the he performed, he was returned to full duty.

“After seeing this man’s story, you feel like you could do anything,” said the producer of “Men of Honor”, Bob Teitel.

When asked what advice he would give to today’s youth for succeeding in life, his answer was simple:

“Love yourself, know who you are, set goals and be determined. People don’t have to like you, but, if you apply yourself, they can’t stop you.”