SAVAW Welcomes Pastor Dan Manning
Updated: Dec 28, 2022
My name is Dan Manning, I will be 74 years old in just a little over a month. My ordination is from Anderson, Indiana. I was born and raised in a small rural town in north central Pennsylvania. I graduated high school in 1967 and in the fall of that year I married my bride of 55+ years. In June of 1968 I received my "Draft Notice" in the mail. Wishing to follow in my father's footsteps, a WW II veteran, I joined the US Navy as a Seabee. Did my basic training at Gulfport, Miss. After training I was stationed at Davisville, RI. My battalion, USNMCB-58 left for their third deployment to Vietnam in February of 1969 to Camp Shields at Chu Lai. Over in country we were spread out from the DMZ to the delta near Saigon to the river delta near the Cambodian border. We built fire bases for the Army, runways and fuel depots, and hangers for the Marines, roads, bridges and whatever else needed done. Returning to the states in mid-October 1969 we learned that our battalion would once again be de-commissioned, and on 17-November-1969 our battalion's flag was lowered for the final time, (and yes it still hurts). Then President Nixon was starting to withdraw troops from Vietnam, and we were no longer needed. The Navy only has need for my rating in times of war, so I was given an early discharge.
Returning home, I went back to work where I was working at the time of being drafted, worked there for 44 years before retirement. Together my wife and I, we started a home. We have two children a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren.
I started coming over to LEEK about 12 years ago, and with my wife, Cindy, and a couple of others from our church we've been providing dinner meals for the hunts, one for each hunt this is our 9th year of doing them. I've been doing Sunday morning services for about 7 years or so over there and this deer season Col. Ed Fisher gave me the opportunity to become LEEK's full-time pastor. I consider this a privilege and a great honor and will do my very best to serve you all in any way that I can.
Pastor Dan