Nathan B. Bruckenthal lost his life while serving his country. He was 24 years old. His heroism stemmed from a long history of sense of service in his short life. Nathan was born on July 17, 1979 and grew up in Stony Brook, NY. This sense of service was instilled in Nate at a very young age. He joined the Junior ROTC while attending high school in Herndon, VA. He was later a member of the Ridgefield Connecticut Volunteer Fire Department. He moved back to long Island and subsequently joined the Coast Guard in 1998. His first duty station was on the Coast Guard Cutter Pointe Wells based in Montauk, NY. During his service on that cutter he was awarded the USCG Pistol Marksman Ribbon, USCG Rifle Marksman Ribbon and he received a Unit Commendation Award. Later he requested and was sent to Yorktown, VA, for training as a damage control officer. This led to his next assignment in Neah Bay, Washington. It was there at Neah Bay he met his wife Pattie Bruckenthal. The station was located on the Mahaj Indian reservation. There, Nathan also volunteered as a police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, and assistant high school football coach on the reservation. During his tenure in Washington he received the Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon. His decision to extend his enlistment was based on his desire to continue to serve his country in an even more challenging position in the Coast Guard. He was accepted to the elite tactical law enforcement program and assigned to TACLET South, housed at the Coast Guard’s Miami Air Station. He was recognized as a leader by is commanding officers and received numerous awards for drug extradition operations in the Caribbean including the National Defense Service Medal and Coast Guard Merit Team Commendation. It was because of his unique skills and ability to train others that he was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2003. While there he received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Combat Action Ribbon for his action in and around the port of Um Qasar. He volunteered for a second request for deployment to Iraq in March 2004. Only weeks after discovering that his wife was carrying his unborn child, Nathan Bruckenthal and two U.S. Navy sailors were killed when a suicide bomber attacked their rigid hull inflatable boat. Nathan had been chosen to become a part of the TACLET’s training unit and his job that afternoon was to instruct navy personnel on how to conduct maritime intercept operations. The team observed a suspicious vessel, which did not heed their commands. The team intercepted the vessel. This selfless act of courage protected the sailors aboard the U.S.S. Firebolt, the off-shore oil platform and the oil terminal itself at Khawr Al Amaya, in the northern Arabian Gulf. For this action, Nathan was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Ward and his second Combat Action Ribbon. He was laid to rest with many of America’s best at Arlington National Cemetery. Nathan Bruckenthal will always be remembered for his kindness to others, his sense of humor, devotion to his family, and service to his country. Nathan’s daughter, Harper Natalie, was born on November 19, 2004