On April 24, 2004, Petty Officer Nathan Bruckenthal, assigned to USCG Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) South and embarked on the USS Firebolt, and two U.S. Navy sailors were killed while intercepting a waterborne suicide attack on the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal off the coast of Iraq in the northern Persian Gulf.
An account of the attack was included the May 2004 issue of U.S. Coast Guard Reservist magazine:
“In the early evening hours of April 24, a dhow (a lateen-rigged Arabian vessel) approached an oil terminal in the Persian Gulf. Bruckenthal, trained as both a boarding team member and boarding officer, was accompanied by one other Coast Guardsman and five sailors from the United States Navy. The group boarded a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB), taking off in pursuit. As the crew was poised to board the dhow, an explosion was detonated. Two Navy petty officers also died as a result of the waterborne attack: PO1 Michael J. Pernaselli, 27, of Monroe, N.Y., and PO2 Christopher E. Watts, 28, of Knoxville, Tenn. Injured were three Navy sailors and BM3 Joseph T. Ruggiero, USCG, 23, from Revere, Mass., who received the Purple Heart.”
Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi of al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bruckenthal was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device and the Purple Heart, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. He was buried at Section 60, Site 7978 of Arlington National Cemetery on May 7, 2004, where he is currently interred.
| Name | Rating | Duty Station | Date |
| Bruckenthal, N. | DC3 | USS Firebolt | 4/24/2004 |