Howell Marion Estes Jr. was a general in the United States Air Force and commander of the Military Air Transport Service, later renamed the Military Airlift Command.

The Antarctica Service Medal (ASM) was established by the United States Congress on July 7, 1960, under Public Law 600 of the 86th Congress. The medal was intended as a military award to replace several commemorative awards which had been issued for previous Antarctica expeditions from 1928 to 1941. With the creation of the Antarctica Service Medal, the following commemorative medals were declared obsolete;Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal United States Antarctic Expedition Medal