Words by Anna Lee Vaughn | Images by Ryan McGill
Before Bruce LeVan ever considered a career in the military, his father, Frank LeVan, a World War II medic who served in the Philippines, imparted a piece of advice that would resonate with him for years to come. “Son, if you ever go in the military, just be a good soldier, do what you’re supposed to, and don’t regret it. You live in a wonderful country, and somebody’s got to help pay the price.” These words stayed with Bruce, shaping his choices in unforeseen ways.
Bruce’s plan was not necessarily to serve in the military. However, that became the plan when he was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1966. Bruce, a native of Dora, Alabama, was newly married and a recent graduate of an auto diesel college in Nashville, Tennessee. Bruce left his original plans behind and began basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. After completing basic training, he went to Fort Lee, Virginia, for his advanced training.
After completing his advanced training, Bruce faced an unexpected delay—his platoon was held over for 45 days without orders. During this period of uncertainty, frustration boiled over one night, leading to a cathartic albeit rowdy confrontation that precipitated their deployment.
“We were working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. We didn’t get any time off. And we just about had all we could take. So, we decided we would all have a party in the barracks. We were all drinking, playing music, and getting loud, and when they came to quiet us down, somebody threw a bottle at the MP that came down,” Bruce recalls. “After a requested meeting with the commanding officer and explaining our 45-day layover, we had our orders the next morning. They shipped 41 of us to Vietnam, and me and one other guy went to Germany.”
During his 19-month tour, Bruce had some intense experiences. When Russia invaded Czechoslovakia, he was flown to the Czech border, where he lived in a tent for 45 days. This experience, and others like it, were defining moments in Bruce’s life. They were also some of the most difficult, leading him to turn to drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms during his service. Once Bruce returned home, however, he reconnected with his roots and accepted Christ on January 10, 1970, leaving those harmful habits behind.
Over the last 54 years in ministry, Bruce has served in communities around Alabama as a bi-vocational minister and community chaplain. For the last 21 years, he has lived in Empire, Alabama, serving as the Senior Pastor of Empire Church of God. He pursued an education through Lee University extension classes in Birmingham and received a grant to fund his education, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pastoral Ministry.
Through this grant, Bruce gained many work opportunities, helping other students acquire the same grant and serving on the governor’s staff, serving on a board of seven members with religious backgrounds, and advising on subjects such as domestic violence, an experience he says tremendously broadened his worldview.
Today, Bruce continues to utilize the skills and resources gained from these experiences. He has transitioned into full-time ministry over the last 26 years, serving as the pastor of Empire Church of God. He was involved in a community project to convert the old Empire School grounds into a community center before the school was set on fire by vandals and burned to the ground. But Bruce did not view this roadblock as defeat.
Bruce’s dear friend, Reverend Otto Tolbert, who built the Little Vine Church, passed away in 2021. Before his passing, Otto presented the church to Bruce to use however he desired. After much prayer and discussion, the Empire Community Center was established in the church building. Bruce says that, through this project, he and others are fulfilling the vision of becoming a “well to their community,” as the wells in the Old Testament were to their communities. He emphasizes that without his faith, it would not be possible to do so.
“I had a young experience with the Lord. My dad wrote me letters before I was ever born, and he knew that I had a calling in my life. He was only 40 when he passed away. He was the greatest influence that I’ve ever had in my life. Even today, he’s still my hero and what I want to be to my family,” says Bruce. “I want to be an asset to my society, to my family, and to my friends. Without Christ, I wouldn’t be able to do that.” WL
