Master Chief Billy Sunday Navy Diver
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He was also the first person to be returned to full service as a navy.
Master chief billy sunday navy diver. Navy diver with the rank of master chief petty officer. Though de niro s character the boorish commander billy sunday is a composite of two specific naval instructors brashear had at the navy s new jersey diving school one a racist and the other a. He was the first african american to become a u s. This film is based on real life events of carl brashear the first black man to be accepted into the salvage divers school.
Navy master diver rising to the position in 1970 despite also having an amputated left leg. If it s sunk he brings it up. According to the film s press kit the character of billy sunday who was a master chief navy diver and instructor at the diving school in the movie was a composite of various navy men in the film s press notes screenwriter scott marshall smith wrote this isn t a connect the dots biography. As a crew member of the salvage ship uss hoist where he is assigned to the galley he is inspired by the bravery of one of the divers master chief petty officer leslie william billy sunday.
Brashear retired in 1979 as a master chief boatswain s mate the highest enlisted rank in the navy. If it is lost underwater he finds it. A 31 year navy veteran mr. He is determined to overcome racism and become the first black american navy diver even proclaiming that he will become a master diver.
If it is lost underwater he finds it. The navy diver is not a fighting man he is a salvage expert. No according to the film s press kit the character of master diver billy sunday in the movie men of honor portrayed by robert de niro is a fictional composite of several different sailors. In the 2000 film men of honor the character leslie william billy sunday portrayed by robert de niro is a u s.