In January 1966 , in an accident now known as the Palomares incident , a B28 nuclear bomb was lost off the coast of Palomares , Spain , after two United States Air Force aircraft of the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) , a B-52G Stratofortress bomber and a KC-135A Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft , collided during aerial refueling . Brashear was serving aboard when it was dispatched to find and recover the missing bomb for the Air Force . The warhead was found after two and a half months of searching . For his service in helping to retrieve the bomb , Brashear was later awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal &ndash; the highest Navy award for non-combat heroism
Palomares incident
1966 Palomares B-52 crash
Carl Brashear