DARIN PONTELL CALLS HOME FROM THE GRAVE According to the Washington Post, January 20, 2002, "The Last Watch," (front page, Style section), the entire chain of command of the super secret Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Plot (CNO-IP) were killed in the September 11 attack on the Pentagon.
One of the victims was Darin Pontell, who worked in CNO-IP. The Post reported that two days after the attack, Darin's parents were still hoping Darin was alive. Here is an excerpt from "The Last Watch," Washington Post, January 20, 2001, pg.F1.
"'Where'd I put my cell phone? Where is it?' Marilyn Pontell, Darrin's mother, grew frantic looking for her purse. Her Nokia was chiming 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game.'
"Marilyn would be sick if she missed that call. Maybe it was news about her son. maybe it was Darin himself.
"Two days later, Marilyn and Gary Pontell still hoped their youngest boy had been spared. Gathered at Darin and Devora's apartment in Gaithersburg on Thursday afternoon, they could barely process the idea that he was dead...
"Navy officials gave garbled reports: One person said someone who looked like Darin walked from the scene. Somebody else claimed he was working far away, in the A-Ring. An officials said they couldn't find his Acura Integra in the Pentagon lot...
"The Nokia sang again, then silence. Too late. when she finally got to the phone, Marilyn scrolled through the menu. One missed call: 1:57 p.m. No message. But the incoming number was clearly identified. It was Darin's.
"My God, maybe he was alive.
"For five more days, they waited. On Sept. 18, the Navy informed the Pontells that Darin's body had been positively identified. His cell phone was never returned to the family. They presume it was never found. Perhaps the flip-phone had somehow dialed Marilyn's number when the rubble shifted. But didn't all cell phones have to be turned off upon entry into the CNO-IP [Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Plot]?
"The FBI offered a one-word explanation for that call: 'anomaly.'"