A 9/11 Tribute to LTJG Darin H. Pontel, USN

This 2,996 Tribute is dedicated to Darin Howard Pontell

When Darin Pontell was 14, he decided that he would join the Navy. His older brother Steven was a Navy pilot, and he was killed in a crash on the USS Lexington off Pensacola, Florida in 1989.

"When that happened, Darin mentioned that he'd like to pick up where his brother Steven left off, to complete the circle," his father, Gary Pontell, said.

Darin Pontell, a native of Arlington Heights who moved with his family to Baltimore in 1985, graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1999. Upon graduation, he reported to the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Command in Dam Neck, VA. He was assigned to Carrier Air Wing Seven as the Collections Officer. He was later deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. He received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Naval Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

Lt. Pontell married Devora Sue Wolk, a lawyer, in March 2001. He began working at the Pentagon in April and celebrated his 26th birthday that August. He and his new bride lived in Gaithersburg, MD.

"He was thoughtful and generous and wanted to make everyone around him happy," said Devora. " He would do whatever it took to make his family and friends smile."

He was completing his second night of training in a new position with the Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Plot at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. He and six colleagues were piecing together information about the attacks on the World Trade Center when American Airlines Flight 77, a highjacked Boeing 757, crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 AM. The jet aircraft slammed into the west side of the Pentagon, where the CNO-IP office was located.

"When he returned to the Pentagon, we felt he was so safe," his father said. "Who would have thought of the Pentagon as a target?"

"He was a good kid. He liked athletics," his grandfather said, and described him as "a computer wizard. He was smart. He had an awful lot of friends."

"I had known my husband since we were about 11," stated his wife Devora. "All he wanted to do was go to the Naval Academy like his older brother, but it was a challenge for him to get in and make it through the four years and graduate with honors. And this is his Naval Academy ring that he wore every day, that marked his accomplishment; he accomplished something that he had set his mind to when he was so young. He was proud to be a Naval Academy graduate and an officer in the U.S. Navy.”

Before Darin Pontell went to the Naval Academy, he worked with his father, an architect, who was left with one son, Michael, now 38.

"Darin and his brother Mike were my best friends," Gary Pontell said shortly after the attack on the Pentagon. "And being that both of them were such family people, we always spent a lot of time together. That's what I'm going to miss. The Sunday afternoons and Sunday evenings. I'm going to miss the phone calls."

It can only be presumed that Lt. Pontell and his colleagues were killed immediately. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Darin Pontell was buried next to his brother in the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Cemetery.

He is fondly remembered by former shipmates and many others.

Please visit these other 2,996 Tributes that we and some of our friends have created:

• 2,996 Tribute to James B. Reilly by DragonDude
• 2,996 Tribute to Fran Riccardelli by JargonTalk
• Remembering Paul E Jeffers by Willo's Web
• 9-11 Tribute to Nicole Miller by AZAnnie

tags: 2996, Darin Pontell, USN, Pentagon, Flight 17, Naval Academy, Purple Heart, Francis Riccardelli, 911, World Trade Center, security, terrorism, lexidiem, Homeland Security, September 11th, 9-11, James B Reilly, Flight 11, Flight 175, wtc

I've got a bad feeling about this...

Terror Plot Uncovered in the UK

Woke up Thursday morning to the news of an alleged terrorist plot to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale." British law enforcement authorities had arrested 24 suspects who had planned to explode 10 to 12 aircraft in mid-flight between Britain and America using liquid explosives.

The plot was said to be just days away. British authorities said that the plan bore all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda plot.

The twenty four suspects are said to be British citizens, many of Pakistani origin. This was three more than the 21 announced earlier in the day. British security sources felt that all the main targets had been arrested.

Here in the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff raised the nation’s threat level to Severe, or Red, for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom bound for the U.S. This adjustment reflects the Critical, or highest, alert level that has been implemented in the UK. He also raised the threat level to High, or Orange, for all commercial
aviation operating in or destined for the U.S. Chertoff called the plot "comparable to 9/11."

Also implemented was a new series of security measures, prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on airplanes. British authorities have implemented similar measure due the potential dangers that could be caused with many simple household liquids.

The UK threat level remains critical, according to UK Home Secretary John Reid, who noted that the main suspects were in custody but it was right to "err on the side of caution." The British government also released the names of the suspects. The oldest person is 35, and the youngest is only 17.

Now ponder these facts, and see how you feel:

• Last Tuesday the FBI had announced that they were looking for 11 Egyptian exchange students who arrived in the U.S. last month, but never showed up for class at Montana State University. Some are now in Federal custody.


• Oliver Stone's World Trade Center film is now playing in theaters (see the YouTube video trailer).


• The fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks is just a month away.


• Homeland Security Chief Chertoff stated that "currently, there is no indication of plotting within the United States."



• ABC News has just posted an audiotape provides one of the clearest and most accurate records of the United Flight 93 hijackers on September 11th.

I for one can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when 9/11 happened, and all these facts are just a bit too coincidental to make one rest easy. At the time of this writing, the current HSAS level in Pennsylvania, where I live, remains at yellow, though Governor Ed Rendell urged resident to be observant and "vigilant at all times." It can make the observer somewhat uneasy watching these events roll by like a parade before our eyes.

In the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), there was a classic line, a quote that I'll share here:

I've got a bad feeling about this.
~ Hans Solo (played by Harrison Ford)

My sentiments exactly, and I truly hope that I'm wrong. I was very close to the 9/11 relief efforts and to some of the people involved in the recovery (see the archived UCanHelp.com Website at the Library of Congress).

World Trade Center Video from September 11, 2001

Homeland Security Advisory

Resources, should you (hopefully never) need them:

• Department of Homeland Security
• Terrorism Awareness and Prevention: A Self-Study Guide
  from The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• FBI Homepage & Local Offices
• FBI Tips & Public Leads
• U.S. Department of Justice
• Red Cross: Family Disaster Plan

Technorati Tags: 9/11, airline, al-Qaeda, bad feeling, WTC, terrorism, security, London, lexidiem, jargontalk, YouTube, video, Chertoff, Homeland Security, John Reid, liquid, Pakistani, September 11th, World Trade Center, Ed Rendell, United Flight 93, 2996,

Our lexidiem is uneasy.

August 11, 2006