Ptlm. Jose F. Quintana

Joe Quintana was born in 1915, and was a native New Mexican. He was commissioned as a New Mexico State Police officer on November 20, 1937. He was initially assigned to Chama and later served in Socorro and Albuquerque. 

Joe started taking flying lessons in 1935 and he was often utilized by the state police in air missions. One such mission involved making air drops of food to stranded motorist around Clines Corners, New Mexico, during a snowstorm. 

In 1943, Joe took leave from the state police to join the U. S. Army Air Corps. Joe served in the Army Air Corps at the rank of lieutenant and was serving as a flying instructor when on March 21, 1944, he died in an airplane crash in England. He was survived by his wife and a son, Alex Quintana, who later became a captain in the New Mexico State Police.