Vietnam War general dies at 92 in Maryland

WASHINGTON – Howell M. Estes Jr., an Air Force four-star general who led the command that flew cargo to U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, died July 2 at his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 92 and had a heart ailment.

From 1964 to 1969, Estes headed the Illinois-based Military Airlift Command, now called the Air Mobility Command. In addition to his Vietnam War responsibilities, he had oversight of medical evacuations, air rescue and other military airlift systems worldwide.

During his retirement, he served brief terms as president of World Airways in Oakland, Calif., and Federal Express Corp. in Memphis.

Howell Marion Estes Jr., the son of an Army officer, was born in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., in 1914.

He graduated in 1936 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he was captain of the championship polo team. After a period in the cavalry, he began pilot training.

During World War II, he was a flight instruction commander at bases in Texas. In 1947, he joined the newly created U.S. Air Force. During the Korean War, he flew 25 combat missions in B-29s.

Estes commanded the planning and operations teams of a hydrogen bomb test in 1954 near the Pacific atoll of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. This led to further command roles in weapon systems operations, air defense systems and aerospace systems.

In 1961, he helped oversee the installation of missile silos and the construction of missiles as part of the country’s strategic nuclear deterrent program.

His decorations included the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, three awards of the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and two awards of the Air Medal.

He settled in the Washington, D.C., area in the mid-1970s.