Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Quintana

Remember Our Heroes

Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Quintana, 30, of Huntington Park, Calif.

SSgt Quintana was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Schweinfurt, Germany; died Sept. 10, 2011 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

Sgt. Quintana grew up in Fresno and attended McLane and Fresno High Schools.

Remembered by his family as good natured with a big heart, he first joined the Air Force when he was 18, then later joined the Army, planning to make a career out of the military. He was on his second deployment, having previously been deployed to Iraq.

“He couldn’t stand being a civilian,” said Tammy Echeverria, his aunt. “He said it was too boring.” She added, “He said he wanted to learn how to drive a tank and jump out of airplanes.”

“He loved it,” said his mother, Dora Melendez. “He stood up for his country. He was a very giving person. Very respectful. That’s what the military taught him.”
He had a wonderful sense of humor. “He was a prankster,” said Maryann Echeverria, another aunt. “He had a lot of stories. No matter what, he was always laughing.”

Daniel Quintana, Sr. said his son planned a career in the military. “He told me, ‘Dad, I love what I do. Don’t worry about me. I’m a great soldier’,” the father recalled. “I believe him. He was a great soldier.”

He was described as a father, football coach and a leader within his platoon. He was known to everyone as “Staff Sergeant Q” or just “Q”. He was a former armor soldier in the Brigade’s 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment who converted to the infantry during preparations for deployment.

SSgt Quintana was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. His father said, “He wanted to be buried with his fallen brothers.”

SSgt Quintana is survived by his parents, Dora and Daniel Sr; wife, Nilda and children, Jose and Daniel, and a third child due in January 2012; sisters Desiree Quintana, Emily Echeverria, Daisy Echeverria; brothers Jonathan Echeverria, Matthew Belmontez, Fred Belmontez and Vincent Melendez

Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Quintana was killed in action on 9/10/11.