300036Z APR 04
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//G-C//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS
SUBJ: DC3 NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL, USCG
1. ON 25 APRIL, DC3 NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL AND TWO USN SAILORS, PO1 MICHAEL PERNASELLI AND PO2 CHRISTOPHER WATTS, WERE KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY WHILE CONDUCTING MARITIME INTERCEPT OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH ARABIAN GULF.
2. DC3 BRUCKENTHAL WAS A PROUD COAST GUARDSMAN WHO SERVED HIS COUNTRY AND HIS FELLOW MAN WITH HONOR AND COMPASSION. HE WILLINGLY ENTERED INTO HARMS WAY TO PROTECT OUR NATION AND HIS FELLOW SERVICEMEN FROM TERRORISTS AND TO ASSIST THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ AS THEY PURSUE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY. BY HIS ACTIONS, HE EXEMPLIFIED HONOR, RESPECT AND MOST ESPECIALLY, DEVOTION TO DUTY. WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET HIS SACRIFICES OR THE LEGACY HE WILL LEAVE BEHIND. WHILE NO WORDS CAN ADEQUATELY CONSOLE HIS WIFE, PATTY, OR HIS PARENTS DURING THIS VERY DIFFICULT TIME, I ASK YOU TO PLEASE KEEP THE BRUCKENTHAL FAMILY IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
3. PO BRUCKENTHAL WILL BE BURIED WITH FULL MILITARY HONORS AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AT 1100 ON 07 MAY 2004.
4. OPERATIONS PERMITTING, COAST GUARD UNITS SHALL OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE AT 1100 ON 07 MAY IN MEMORY OF DC3 BRUCKENTHAL AND ALL OUR SERVICE MEMBERS WHO HAVE MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SERVING OUR NATION WITH HONOR. ALL COAST GUARD UNITS, NOT UNDERWAY, SHALL DISPLAY THE NATIONAL ENSIGN AT HALF MAST FROM 1100 UNTIL 1300 ON 07 MAY 2004.
5. IN TRUE COAST GUARD FASHION, NUMEROUS INQUIRIES HAVE BEEN MADE REGARDING DONATIONS AND LETTERS OF CONDOLENCES FOR THE BRUCKENTHAL FAMILY. DONATIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO:
THE NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL MEMORIAL TRUST FUND
P.O. BOX 398
NORTHPORT, NY 11768
IF ANY UNIT HAS ALREADY RECEIVED DONATIONS, CONTACT YOUR SERVICING LEGAL OFFICE FOR ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE. LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCES MAY BE SENT TO:
U. S. COAST GUARD
RICHMOND HTS MWR REC CENTER
15403 SW 123 AVENUE
MIAMI, FL 33177
ATTN: FAMILY OF NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL
6. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.
7. ADMIRAL THOMAS H. COLLINS, COMMANDANT.
BT
A few searches across the internet yielded:
"Mr. President, I rise today to honor Petty Officer Nathan B. Bruckenthal for his service to the United Sates Coast Guard and his commitment to his country. Petty Officer Bruckenthal was killed in action in Iraq on April 25, 2004 as he sought to intercept a marine vessel attempting to launch a terrorist attack.
Petty Officer Bruckenthal’s death reminds us of the dangerous mission that the Coast Guard performs every day, at home and overseas, in support of the nation’s defense...." more...
PORTSMOUTH, VA – U.S. Coast Guard Damage Controlman Third Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, 24, from Smithtown, N.Y., died from injuries sustained when a small boat exploded as he and six other coalition sailors attempted to board it near the Iraqi Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal Saturday.
Injured was Boatswains Mate Third Class Joseph T. Ruggiero, 23, from Revere, Mass., who is recovering in a hospital in Kuwait.
The two men were assigned to Law Enforcement Detachment 403 from Tactical Law Enforcement Team South in Miami, Fla., and were deployed to Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia at the time of the incident. more...
A Long Island native and son of Northport's village police chief was among three people killed in the suicide bombing attack that overturned a U.S. Navy boat on Persian Gulf waters Saturday, military officials said yesterday. more...
NEAH BAY, Wash. -- Makah tribal leaders, military veterans and high school athletes joined their fellow citizens at a memorial service to honor Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal.
He was killed April 24 when suicide bombers in boats attacked pumping stations in the Persian Gulf. Bruckenthal became the first member of the Coast Guard to die in battle since the Vietnam War.
The Makah community remembers him well. He joined the Neah Bay station in spring 2001 and served two years in this coastal town on the northwestern tip of Washington state. more...
A Dania Beach father-to-be became the first U.S. Coast Guard member killed in action since the Vietnam War, in a suicide attack on an oil facility in Iraq this weekend.
Petty Officer Nathan B. Bruckenthal, 24, would have been coming home in about 30 days, said his supervisors at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Miami-Dade County.
Bruckenthal, who joined the Coast Guard six years ago, had been a member of the Tactical Law Enforcement Team South at Opa-locka Airport for the past two years. more...
The Lightship Sailors site has a good photograph of Petty Officers Nathan B. Bruckenthal and Joseph T. Ruggiero. more...
Paul Pluta, Lee Taylor and I attended the funeral at Arlington Cemetery. The crowd of people was near overwhelming - The Commandant, the Secretary of Transportation, active duty and retired Coast Guard, troops of police officers (his father is a police chief), and others.
Petty Officer Bruckenthal is interred in Section 60.