Howard Allred

“What I remember most about him is how inspiring he was a person and a public speaker. Everyone who knew him, loved him, and he never met a stranger. I once went on a trip with him and we missed a connecting flight. Everyone in the line was angry, so he just started talking to everyone. Before you knew it the whole line was laughing and enjoying his company. He had a great skill with people.

My dad had doctoral decorations added to his pastoral robe to wear for his graduation and in the pulpit after he received his honorary doctorate. I am now the proud owner of that robe. I wore it for my graduation and now every graduation ceremony that I attend at UNC Charlotte.”

– Beth Oyarzun, Assistant Professor, Cato College of Education

Howard Allred, remembered by his granddaughter, Beth Oyarzun

After flying photo reconnaissance missions alongside FDR’s son, Howard Allred followed a calling to become a Methodist minister.

An excerpt from Howard Allred’s obituary reads:

During WWII, 1st Lt. Howard Allred was a photographic reconnaissance pilot in the Mediterranean Theater. Flying the P-38 and B-25 aircraft, he was awarded the Air Medal five times and, for valor, the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Nine days before his death, he had a joyous trip to the WWII Memorial on The Triad Flight of Honor. Mr. Allred earned a Bachelor of Arts from Guilford College, a Master of Divinity from Duke University and a Doctor of Divinity (honorary) from High Point University.

Mr. Allred served 43 years in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. His pastorates included Pelham, Eden, Gastonia, Concord, Asheboro, Thomasville, Superintendent of the Northeast District, and High Point. In 1995, he was elected Pastor Emeritus of First United Methodist Church, High Point In 1980, 1984 and 1988, Mr. Allred was a delegate to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church. He was a delegate to the General Conference in 1984 in St. Louis and 1988 in Baltimore. He was also a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1986.

Mr. Allred served on the Board of Advisors, Hayworth Chapel, High Point University. He was a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International, a life member of Optimist International and a member of the American Legion. Founder of the television ministry at First United Methodist in 1990, he received the Holt McPherson Communication Award in Public Media in 1991 “for excellence in presenting the Christian message on television.” During his pastorate in Concord, Mr. Allred served as track chaplain for the Charlotte Motor Speedway. In October 2000, he was selected by the Independent Tribune in Concord as one the “100 Most Influential People over the last 100 years” in Cabarrus County.

Mr. Allred was a 33rd Degree Mason and served as State Chaplain for the Grand Masonic Lodge of North Carolina.

Here is an interview from the Greensboro News & Record recounting the day he was shot down.

Here is the news story of his trip on the flight of honor to visit the WWII memorial nine days before he died.

In an excerpt from the book Unarmed and Unafraid by Glen B. Infield, Howard Allred details an assignment to the 12th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron.