Steve Israel: “on April 24, Nathan Bruckenthal became the first member of the Coast Guard to die in battle since Vietnam. His bravery…”

“on April 24, Nathan Bruckenthal became the first member of the Coast Guard to die in battle since Vietnam. His bravery and sacrifice shines a light on the often overlooked sacrifices made by the Coast Guard in our Nation's defense. Nathan is survived by a proud father in Northport, New York, village police chief Rick Bruckenthal and his wife, Patricia, a loving mother, Laurie Bullock of Ashburn, Virginia. Nate is also the brother of Matthew, Michael and Noa Beth, and the husband of Patricia in Florida. When I called Rick Bruckenthal, he simply said, ``My son served his country.'' He did serve and he did sacrifice. And now we have an eternal debt to his memory and his family, to support our troops when we send them into dangerous places, to support their families back home, to support our veterans, to do these things in our hearts, in our budgets, and in our prayers which are with the family of Nathan Bruckenthal, the police department of Northport Village, the United States Coast Guard and Bates Neck Station, today and all days. God bless the Bruckenthal family and God bless America.”