[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 4, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO U.S. COAST GUARD PETTY OFFICER THIRD CLASS NATHAN B. 
                              BRUCKENTHAL

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                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 4, 2004

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of U.S. 
Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, who was 
killed on April 24th in a suicide attack in the northern Arabian Gulf. 
He is a true hero--a man who served his country and did the nation's 
work in the most dangerous part of the world. Our entire community 
grieves his loss.
  Petty Officer Bruckenthal, 24, along U.S. Navy Petty Officer First 
Class Michael J. Pernaselli, 27, and U.S. Navy Petty Officer Second 
Class Christopher E. Watts, 28, boarded a small boat that approached 
the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in the northern Arabian Gulf in order 
to inspect it. As it turns out, the boat was carrying bombs and 
exploded, killing all three young men.
  Petty Officer Bruckenthal was stationed at Air Station Miami at the 
Opa Locka Airport in my Congressional district prior to his deployment 
in Iraq. He and his wife had their home together in nearby Ft. 
Lauderdale.
  Our brave men and women in the U.S. Coast Guard have long fought 
alongside our other members of the U.S. Armed Forces, but Petty Officer 
Bruckenthal's death is the first combat death of a member of the Coast 
Guard since the Vietnam War. He will be buried on May 7th at Arlington 
National Cemetery.
  My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Petty 
Officer Bruckenthal and those of the other young men who were mortally 
wounded in this terrorist assault. They gave the ultimate sacrifice to 
their country, and we will never forget them.

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