Petty Officer Bruckenthal, a damage controlman, 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.