Seaman (E3) Estes served aboard the heavy cruiser USS Saint Paul (CA 73). He and eight other seamen were drowned when aboard a motorized whaleboat that capsized as it was returning from the fleet flagship USS El Dorado (AGC-11) in Inchon Harbor, South Korea, on 11 March 1951.

Estes was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.