Out of Darkness into the Light Part 2

                                                          Part 2             

                                        Out of Darkness into the Light

By Dr. Alan N. Keiran

President and Co-Founder of

Dunamis International Ministries

The Vietnam Military Draft

In the fall of 1971 I was running out of money for college tuition even thought I had a great part-time job in a supermarket. In October of that year I was selected for compulsory service with #24 of 365…So, as a former Sea Scout and grandson of a United States Naval Academy graduate, I volunteered to enlist as a Naval Reserve Cryptologist. I headed or Great Lakes Navy Boot Camp in early January 1972 for eight weeks of general Navy training, followed by four months of cytological training. 

I was them assigned to a small Navy group stationed on a U.S. Air Force base in San Vito Italy. Again I attended to church occasionally and spent a lot of time alone. God was wooing me. One day I went to the base bookstore to get my monthly dirt-bike magazine and came out with a KJV Bible. Amazing how God gets a hold our hearts. I’d like to tell you that I read the Bible cover to cover during those long days, but I made to the end of Genesis….

I’d like to say that my days in Italy always italic, but being one the most junior sailors at that time was stressful and lonely. I went to church occasionally and hung out with a friend who loved to travel and ski so that was my main focus when not on watch in our spaces. In December 1973 I was picked to revert back to the Reserves. I reenrolled in college in January 1974 and met my wife, Sally, two days later in a history class.