★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
ENS Steven Pontell, USN ‘88 was lost on October 28, 1989 when the T-2C he was piloting crashed aboard USS Lexington (CV 16).
From the January-February issue of "Shipmate":
A native of Chicago, Illinois, he graduated from Buffalo Grove High School before appointment to the Naval Academy and graduation with the Class of 1988. As a Midshipman, he set his sights on Naval Air. He was described by his Classmates as an achiever, someone with a "cheerful smile and a positive attitude."
At the time of his death, he was attached to Training Squadron 19 at the Naval Air Station, Meridian, Mississippi.
His father Gary Pontell, said, "He had always been interested in being a Navy pilot. He excelled at the Naval Academy (and) was in the top 25 percent of his Class. He truly loved the Academy, the people and the prestige that went along with it."
Ens. Pontell is survived by his father and mother (Marilyn) of Columbia, Maryland; and two brothers, Michael, a senior at the University of Maryland, and Darin, 14, a freshman at Atholton High School in Columbia.
Steven’s brother, Darin, graduated the Naval Academy in 1998 and was killed in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php?title=STEVEN_E._PONTELL,_ENS,_USN