Brazilian diver Alberto José do Nascimento was the only one that supported Brashear since the beginning in the team, but was ignored in the movie and replaced by different characters along the film
In 2009, the USNS T-AKE 7 was named the USNS Carl Brashear, in honor of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear (1931-2006), who joined the U.S. Navy in 1948. He was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from the Navy Diving School, and was designated a Navy salvage diver. He was the first African-American to qualify and serve as a master diver while on active duty, and the first U.S. Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation. After thirty-one years of service, Brashear officially retired from the U.S. Navy on April 1, 1979.
Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) was based on two people in Carl's career.
This picture was made with the blessing and cooperation of the U.S. Department of the Navy.
The year after this film was released, Cuba Gooding, Jr. portrayed Doris Miller, the first African-American to be awarded the Navy Cross, in Pearl Harbor (2001).