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Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal
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was on a security mission in the Persian Gulf on April 24, 2004, when suicide bombers initiated a waterborne assault on the
Khawr Al Amaya oil terminal. Bruckenthal was severely wounded while defending the Iraqi terminal, and later died from his
injuries. He was serving aboard the USS Firebolt on his second tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bruckenthal
was the first Coast Guardsman killed in combat since the Vietnam War. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Bronze
Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal in April 2004. Coast Guard.
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