USA: Memorial Ceremony Honors Fallen Sailors, Coast Guardsman

U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia held a ceremony at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain April 24 in remembrance of the ninth anniversary of the attack on patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt (PC 10).

Saturday, April 24, 2004, Firebolt was attacked near Iraq’s oil terminals while conducting maritime security operations in the Northern Arabian Gulf.

The attack claimed the lives of three U.S. servicemembers: Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Michael Pernaselli, U.S. Navy; Signalman 2nd Class Christopher Watts, U.S. Navy; and Damage Controlman 3rd Class Nathan Bruckenthal, U.S. Coast Guard.

These three fallen servicemembers are now immortalized at a memorial on NSA Bahrain, in the courtyard outside the U.S. Coast Guard office, where today’s ceremony was held. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 completed construction of the memorial in just over a month on Feb. 24.

Speakers at the ceremony included Deputy Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, Rear Adm. Kevin Scott; Commodore, Commander, Task Force 55, Capt. Stephen Evans; and the host of the ceremony, Commodore, U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, Capt. Paul Flynn.

Lt. Clayton Jones, Christian chaplain from Destroyer Squadron 50, ended the memorial ceremony with a solemn prayer to look after the families and friends of those that were lost, and the Sailors and Coastguardsmen that serve today and honor their memory.

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Naval Today Staff, April 26, 2013