Local Pearl Harbor survivor dies

Allan David Davis, who survived the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, died Monday. He was 82.

A funeral service is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday at the South Tulsa Baptist Church under the direction of Bixby Funeral Service of Bixby.

Davis was born Feb. 10, 1921, in Farmersville, Texas , to Elva and Leland Davis.

After graduating from Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Texas , he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940.

Davis was stationed at Hickam Field near Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked and was instrumental in escorting three pilots to their P-40 airplanes.

Theirs were the only planes to attack Japanese aircraft that day, resulting in the downing of six Japanese Zeros.

Davis received the Purple Heart for wounds he received in the attack.

Following the war, he transferred to the Marine Corps Reserves. He later fought in the Korean War.

Afterward, Davis attended the University of Tulsa, majoring in mechanical engineering. He returned to college in the 1970s and earned a liberal arts degree.

He eventually owned and operated the American Plumbing & Heating Co.a and the Pendergrass Plumbing Co.

Following his retirement in 1987, Davis became a missionary and helped build the Vietnamese Baptist Church in Broken Arrow and rebuild the Tulsa Baptist Ministry Center, which was named in his honor.

Besides his work in the United States, he also did missionary work in Mexico, Africa, South America and North Korea.

Davis was a charter member of the South Tulsa Baptist Church.

He is survived by his wife, Jewel Davis; a son, Gary Davis of Tulsa; a daughter, Dinell Blevins of Tulsa; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Friends are making memorial contributions to the Allan Davis Ministry Center, c/o Tulsa Metro Baptist Association.

Tulsa World (OK) - April 24, 2003
Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams