Men of Honor

Men of Honor

Transcript

00:00This black man ignored everyone's attempts to stop him. He leapt straight into the ocean.

00:04The officer ordered him to be pulled back, but he swam so fast, no one could catch him.

00:08This happened at a U.S. Navy base. Racial discrimination was deeply rooted here.

00:12In the sweltering summer, white men were allowed to swim six days a week,

00:15but black men could only swim on Tuesdays. He wanted to break that rule.

00:19That's why he jumped into the sea, defying everyone. His name was Carl.

00:22His family had been farmers for generations. His father didn't want Carl to follow in his

00:26footsteps. So when Carl grew up, he sent him to join the Navy. On the day he left,

00:30his father gave him one last reminder. No matter how hard it gets, you must stick with it.

00:35Never come back. Carl carried his father's hope with him. But once he got to the Navy,

00:39he quickly realized, black men were treated as inferior. They were only allowed to do menial

00:43labor or work in the kitchen. For breaking the rules, Carl was thrown into confinement.

00:47But the captain saw something different in him. A rare kind of courage and natural talent.

00:51So he recommended Carl to attend Navy diving school, to become a salvage and rescue diver.

00:55When Carl arrived at the academy, the instructor refused to let him in because he was black.

01:00But Carl didn't give up. He stood outside the gate the entire day. The instructor was moved by his

01:04perseverance, and finally agreed to let him in. Getting in was just the beginning. What awaited

01:09him were hostile stares from his white peers, and a wad of spit in his face. The instructor held a

01:13welcome ceremony for Carl. But the other trainees said, we don't live with black people. Then packed up

01:18and left. Only one boy stayed behind. A naive looking kid with a stutter, who was also often picked on

01:23by others. Late at night, Carl was doused with cold water by the instructor. He said it was

01:27morning training, but used a high-pressure hose to blast him, then shoved him underwater,

01:31to make him practice holding his breath. It was obvious they wanted him to quit, but Carl

01:36remembered his father's words, and endured it all. The next day, the stuttering boy who roomed with

01:40Carl, was targeted too, just for being close to him. He failed to hold his breath for four minutes

01:45and was immediately expelled. Carl felt terrible. One day, during an underwater welding exercise,

01:50a teammate got into trouble. Carl volunteered to go down with another trainee to help. But during

01:54the rescue, part of the ship collapsed again. The other diver panicked and swam away. Carl was left

01:59alone. He pressed on and managed to save the trapped teammate. Afterward, the incident was

02:03recognized by the instructors. But they gave the credit to the coward who ran. Everyone knew the

02:08truth, but chose to stay silent. Only the man Carl saved, gave him a look of respect. Even with all

02:13this unfairness, Carl never gave up. With unbreakable determination, he came in first in every

02:18training. Until one day, Carl received news, that his father had passed away from illness. The strong

02:23Carl finally broke down. He went to a bar to have a drink. But when the bartender saw he was black,

02:28he said they were out of alcohol. A white trainee told him to leave. Even the instructor stepped in

02:33and said, black men aren't welcome here, no matter how good you are. The school will never let you

02:37graduate. Carl had had enough. He challenged the instructor to a breath-holding contest. If I lose,

02:42I'll drop out on my own, he said. But if I win, the stuttering boy gets to come back. The instructor accepted.