Sgt. Henry Hanes Allen, Jr

Sgt. Henry Hanes Allen, Jr., who died in combat during World War II, is finally coming home to Covington.

According to the Department of Defense, Sgt. Allen and the other nine crew members of “Little Joe,” a B-24 Liberator, were killed on April 8, 1944, when their flight was shot down on a mission over Germany.  Allied Forces searched for the crash site for many years, but it was only recently found near Salzwedel.

Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on October 12, 2024 at the Chapel of J.C. Harwell and Son with family visitation at 12:00 pm with Rev. Neeley Rentz Lane officiating.  Interment will follow in Southview Cemetery with full military honors.

Hanes Allen was born to Henry Hanes Allen, Sr. and Maria Death Allen in Jackson, Ga on August 30, 1923.  His family moved to Covington soon after where he grew up and graduated from Covington Public Schools.  He was attending North Georgia College when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force on June 10, 1942.

While Sgt. Allen was missing in action, his mother in Covington was asked if she expected her son to ever return.  She said that any day she thought he might walk through her front door.  She was still waiting for his return when she died in 2003.  We can only imagine her happy reunion when it was she who walked through the gates of Heaven and found him and his father waiting there for her.

The war hero is survived by several cousins, the closest of whom is John Ray Bouchillon, Jr., (Martha Jo Logue) of Eatonton.

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