BATTLE OF THE BULGE
at FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA
64th Commemoration is January 27th thru February 1st, 2009

" Have you HUGGED a WWII Veteran TODAY "
 

26 Mar 96 Modified, 7 Jul 97, 27 Jan 98 HISTORY OF FORT INDIANTOWN GAP BY SGM WARREN PARKS   AS MODIFIED BY LTG FRANK H. SMOKER If you have more information on the History of Fort Indiantown Gap or counter-dictions to this document please e-Mail SGM Warren Parks (ret) at ParksWarren@msn.com THE EARLY DAYS Soldiers who train and maneuver through the woods of Fort Indiantown Gap tread on historic around. Indian artifacts found in this area have been dated back as far as 3500 B.C. ***** As the settlers moved into the area of northern Lebanon County, during the early 1600’s and until the mid-1750’s, the white settlers considered the Lenie-Lenape Indians to be friendly. There were four Lenie-Lenape Indian villages in the vicinity of the present fort, one of which was established at the south entrance.  Harper’s Tavern, located about two miles south of Fort Indiantown Gap, was built about 1740 by Adam Harper.  It was sometimes surrounded by wigwams of friendly Indians who traded there. But, by the 1750’s, the Indians were being pushed farther and farther back from their traditional hunting grounds, and the French encouraged the Indians to start making attacks on the frontier settlement. Because of these attacks, a chain of fortifications was established along Blue Mountains.  The need for these forts is readily apparent when it is considered that, between 1755 and 1763, the Indians killed 123 people in Lebanon County. Just a few miles south of the present location of Fort Indiantown Gap, in 1755, the house of Adam Reed, Esquire, was turned into a fort.  Reed used this fort to protect the people of the countryside from sudden Indian attacks.  One might say that Adam Reed was the first “Commander” of Fort Indiantown Gap. ******* The 7 ½ foot bronze, 650 pounds, statue of the woman Cuewe-Pehelle, installed at Lebanon Valley College by two longtime members of the Lebanon Valley College family, Dr. Clark and Edna Carmean.  The statue is named for the original form of the word Quittaphilla -- the name of the creek that flows through Annville.  Quittaphilla was the Algonquin Indians’ word for “a stream that flows from the ground among the pines”. Source:   Lebanon Daily News, 18 August 1997 1700's  The known history of this area goes back thousands of years.  Indian artifacts found in the area have been dated to as far back as 3500 BC                 When the first settlers came to this area, several Indian villages were established around the Gap in Blue Mountain, hence the name Indiantown Gap. The fertile land of the Lebanon Valley, and the abundance of wildlife had the same attraction for the settlers as it did for the early Indians.  With the fair treatment the Indians received under William Penn, the settlers and Indians co-existed peacefully at first.                 However conflicts between Indian tribes and territorial disputes between European nations eventually lead to the French and Indian War. With the defeat of the British under General Braddock, the hostile Indians began attacking the settlers.                 The Blue Mountain formed a natural barrier between the settled area in the rolling hills to the south and the wild mountainous region to the North.  The Indians used Indiantown Gap, as well as Manada Gap to the West and Swatara Gap to the east as attack routes. The settlers built fortified barns and houses for refuge. Eventually The government in Philadelphia authorized a chain of blockhouses to be built to stem the attack and garrisoned them with soldiers. Forts were placed by each of the Gaps, the one by Indiantown Gap was known as Browns Fort. The forts were garrisoned by about ten men and were close enough that soldiers on patrol  could reach the next fort by the end of the day.                 One of the leaders of this time was Conrad Wieser. He had spent many years learning Indian ways and acting as a translator and policy maker during negotiations with the Indian leaders. When the Indian wars broke out in the mid 1700's Weiser organized a militia to defend the area.  The State Game Lands adjacent to the north border of the post are named in his honor.   The name of Fort Indiantown Gap is the legacy of at least four Indian communities that flourished in the area during the early 1700's. One village was located near what is now the north entrance to Fort Indiantown Gap, and a larger one was at the south entrance. Dr. George P. Donehoo Indian Villages and Place Names In Pennsylvania.  The Telegraph Press, (Harrisburg,PA )  P. 113 Manada or Monady Gap "Heckewelder says that the name is a corruption of the Menatey, `an island.'"  The Old Hanover Church was established on the Manada creek in 1735.  Brown's fort was erected about the same time.    1755 The Indians were forced out of the area in 1755 and formed an alliance with the French. They utilized the pass between Manada Gap and Blue Mountain to conduct raids on the local settlers.  The settlers built block houses, fortified their farms, and posted lookouts to provide security against the Indians.  The Provincial Government later took responsibility for defense of the area and established a line of forts spaced about ten miles apart to cover attack routs. Swatara Fort was located 12 miles east of Manada Gap and its site is marked by a plaque.  Manada Furnace-Preliminary Report Fort Indiantown Gap Youth Conservation Corps 18 Aug. 1979.                 P. 9  Gen. Timothy Green bought the land that Manada Furnace would later be built on. He built a House that was later used as the iron master's house. In March 1785 the county of Dauphin was established.  Green sold the land to Henry Bates Grubb in 1803. Grubb's son Clement B. Grubb and his brother Edward B. Grubb Built the furnace. The Grubb family held interests in the Cornwall, Mt. Hope, Mt. Vernon and Cadoros Furnace.   Conrad Weiser, Paul A. W. Wallace University Of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1945.                  P1-2  Weiser arrived in New York aboard the Lyon on June 13, 1710 at the age of 13 with his father and seven brothers and sisters.  He was born November 2, 1696 in Astatin the county of Heerenberg in Wurtenburg.  His family was part of a huge wave of German immigrants called Palatines, that were escaping violence, disease, high taxes and poor farming in Germany.  They were encouraged in part by an offer from Queen Ann to provide refuge and resettlement in America. This wave of tens of thousands of German immigrants was the basis of today's "Pennsylvania Dutch."  During the trip to New York, about two hundred of the refugees died due to disease and poor rations.                 P10-15  The German immigrants were settled in New York and Indentured to the Governor until they had repaid the government for the cost of their support and transportation to America.  The plan was to have the settlers produce pine tar for the British Navy and for export to other countries, but inexperience and corruption lead to the failure of the venture.  Conrad Weiser's father, John, was a leader of the settlers and when the governor released the Palatines from their obligation, John Weiser was a principle negotiator with the Indians for new, more fertile lands in which to settle.                 P. 17  In 1712, Conrad's father agreed with a chief of the Mohawk Nation that Conrad would go with the Indians to learn the Indian language. John wanted his son to be able to act as an interpreter to facilitate the Palatines move into the area of New York called Schoharie, which the Germans felt was promised to them by the Queen. Rev. W. Andrews, a missionary, also went to live with the Indians. Because Conrad was only sixteen at the time, it was felt that he could more easily master the difficult to learn Mohawk tongue.                 P. 30  Continuing disputes with the governor of New York lead to the break up of the town of Weiserdorf near Schoharie river.                 P. 31  While Weiser's father was in England, trying unsuccessfully to get George I to settle the Palatine dispute, the Palatines moved to the north and soon accepted the invitation of the governor of Pennsylvania to resettle there.  Conrad describes the move like this:  The Palatines  "... united and cut a Way from schochary to the SuesqueHana River brought Their goods over and made over Canoes and descended the stream to the Mouth of Suartaro (Swatara) Creek and drove Their Cattle overland that was in the spring of the Year 1723. From there they came to tulpehockin and in this is the beginning of the tulpehockin Settlements... others followed ... took lands without permission of the authorities... and against the will of the Indians for the land had not yet been bought from Them, there was no one among the People to control them, everyone did as he liked and Their strong Self-will has stood in their was to this hour.  The Swatara was also known as Schettery.   Weiser, his wife Ann Eve, and their four children followed the earlier Germans down to Pennsylvania in 1729.                 P49  Weiser was instrumental in negotiating a deal between James Logan, the provincial secretary and Hetaquntagecty, a member of the council of the six nations. The English government wanted to get the Six Nations to use their powerful influence to prevent the Delaware from allying with the French. European expansion was creating tension between the settlers and Indians. Part of the problems were caused in the Lebanon Valley because settlers didn't wait for the colonial government to buy the land from the Indians. The settlers would make their own deals with local chief, some of whom didn't have authority to sell the land. In other cases, the land was shared by several tribes and a settler would pay one chief, only to have another claim jurisdiction over the land.                 P 49  A release was signed on September 7, 1732 for the lands "lying between those hills called Lechaig Hills & those called Keckactanemin Hills...  and those branches of Delaware River on the Eastern Side of the said land and the Branches or streams running into the said land."  This document, signed by Sassoonan, Pesquetamen, Lapapaton and others, covered virtually the entire Lebanon Valley area.                 P. 128  In the years following this release, the Indians continued to have grievances. The felt they had not been adequately compensated and that settlers were moving into lands north of Blue Mountain (Called Kittocchitinny by the Indians) without the consent of the Indians. The Indians again called on Weiser to interpret and act as liaison with the government in Philadelphia.                 P. 131  This meeting was to have important ramifications for the Indiantown Gap area in later years. During the meeting, the Colonial government took sides with the Six Nations against the Delaware's. The Six Nations decreed that the Delaware's had no right to occupy the land they had sold in the infamous "Walking Purchase."  Indians in 1800's  After the Indians were pushed west, the Indiantown Gap area spent the next century in peace. To the north, several coal mines were developed, a railroad track was built and a thriving town existed. Waters from Cold Springs were bottled and sold throughout the east.  Today only a ghost town remains. This is the foundation of the Cold Springs Hotel. One of the owners of this hotel was a man by the name of Isaac Brandt. Brandt lived in this house on Indiantown Creek. Brandt and four other men were hung for the murder of a man they had taken out a large insurance policy on. According to testimony they pushed the man off this plank bridge and held him underwater until he died. James L. Holton The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire Volume 1: The Nineteenth Century. Garrigues House, Publishers (Laury's Station, PA 1989)                 P. 286  The Dauphin & Susquehanna Coal Co. was organized on 4/5/1826. The railroad was built from the mines at Cold Spring to Dauphin in 1854. In 1854 the track was extended east to Auburn.  The railroad went into receivership in 1858 and was reorganized as the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Co. The Stock was controlled by the Allentown Railroad Co. The track was leased by the P. & R. in November 1860 and then bought out by the P.&R. in 1861. In June 1872, it was merged with the P.&R.                 P. 287  During the height of the passenger business during the 1920's only three trains each way ran on the branch and only one went the entire length. Manada Furnace-Preliminary Report Fort Indiantown Gap Youth Conservation Corps  18 Aug. 1979.                 Furnace was built in 1836  In 1856, Manada furnace was the only charcoal furnace in the county. Water power from Manada Creek turned a wheel which operated the bellow that pumped air into the furnace. The water wheel was probably on the northeast corner of the furnace.  A bridge from a hill lead to the top of the furnace. Men dumped wheelbarrow loads of charcoal, limestone and iron ore into the top. The ore came from the Grubb's Chestnut Hills Ore Hills or the Cornwall furnace via the Union Canal to Lebanon. From there it was brought by horse to the furnace.  The furnace did some casting of products and sold pig iron. The metal was sent to the Swatara railroad station for transport.  From 1837-1848 the furnace produced over 22,000 tons of iron.                 P. 14-15 The community surrounding the furnace consisted of a general store, the iron master's house a smoke house, boarding house, and twenty two log cabins. The church is still in existence as the United Christian Episcopal Manada Furnace Church                 P.15 At the peak of operations, the furnace employed 75 men.  Two hundred acres were used for farming for the families of furnace workers.                 P. 22  In September of 1861 the furnace workers formed the 46th Regiment, D Company to fight in the Civil War. The company was disbanded on July 16,1865.  The furnace was closed in 1875. ******* But the history of Indiantown Gap dates back almost 300 years to the era of the Susquehannock Indians, descendants of the Leni-Lenape Tribe.  These natives were considered by early frontiersmen to be somewhat reconciled.  However. records maintained by various groups of that time period such as the Jesuits indicate that as far back as 1647 these Indians had an army consisting of 1300 warriors skilled both in the use at firearms and in some of the European techniques of warfare.  Camouflage. fire and smoke signals were also incorporated among their war-waging tactics.  When Captain John Smith, a resident of Virginia saw these people, he was amazed at their size.  To document his description of these Indians as "Giant-like people.  " Captain Smith made sketches of one of the chieftains whose leg measured 27 inches in circumference.  However. their size. their army, and their skill in warfare were of little advantage to them when the time came to battle the Iroquois, a tribe which came close to annihilating the Susquehannocks in a war that continued for almost 50 years. In the early 1700’s the Blue Mountains, part of the Appalachian chain. served as a boundary for the early settlers.  According to some of the original land warrants, there were at least four Indian communities in the area of Indiantown Gap at various times.  It is from these Indian villages which are located throughout the surrounding areas that Indiantown Gap derives its name. One village was located at the north entrance of the present reservation; another was established at the south entrance.  Of the two. the second was comparatively large in size and its inhabitants were considered to be extremely intelligent -- witness some of their artifacts. During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the Indians abandoned the area and formed an alliance with The French.  To expedite their depredation against the frontier settlements, the Indians utilized the pass which existed between Manada Gap and the Blue Mountains as an entrance to the interior portion.  Once they arrived at their destination, murder, burning of buildings, theft of animals, and destruction of crops were not uncommon. Since the question of protection from the Indians fell on the deaf ears of the Philadelphia council, the settlers had no other alternative than to provide their own protection from the Indians by constructing blockhouses and well fortified farms which were used as forts. Swatara Fort, built in 1775 of logs, now marked BV a bronze tablet. guarded the mass through Swatara Gap. Fort Sugar stood about one mile east of       Lickdale.  Fort Weidman, the Hess Blockhouse and Fort Brown were in the vicinity of Fort Indiantown Gap. Since the Indians always struck where they were least expected, the provincial authorities not only had soldiers in the forts and blockhouses, but constantly kept patrols or ranger parties all through the Fort Indiantown Gap area. These rangers greatly reduced the ravages of the Indians and were forerunners of the famed Indian Scouts of later days. After the French and Indian War, the people returned to their homes in the Fort Indiantown Gap area. In 1760, the Union canal was proposed, but because of the Revolutionary War, the canal was not started until 1794 and completed in 1827.  A dam was placed across the Swatara Gap to feed the canal, but in 1862 the dam broke and was never repaired. Looking back at some of the early history of the area surrounding Indiantown Gap, it is easy to see why residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have always considered military prestige and readiness to be valuable legacies of their heritage.  In 1885, this rationalization prompted the Commonwealth to maintain a training site at Mount Gretna for its National Guard units. ****** MT GRETNA 1929                 Fort Indiantown Gap's traditional mission as a training site dates back to 1929 when the Pennsylvania State Legislature recognized the need to expand training facilities for the Pennsylvania National Guard.  The State Military Reservation Commission was convened to determine whether or not Mt. Gretna was a good place for the Reservation or if new lands should be purchased and set aside as a state Military Reservation. 12/4/30                 On December 4, 1930 the commission, chaired by Maj. Gen. William G. Price found that it was not feasible to make further extensive developments in Mt. Gretna due to its proximity to the Civilian population.  The State Military Reservation Commission recommended the purchase of the present site of Fort Indiantown Gap because it was suitable for artillery practice, had plenty of water, was large enough to accommodate an entire division and land could be purchased cheaply. ******* The Pennsylvania State Military Reservation at Mt. Gretna, PA                 Around 1880, land in the Mt. Gretna are was leased for training purposes of the National Guard of Pennsylvania.  In 1901 some land was purchased by the state and later more tracts were purchased until 25 separate and private tracts had been purchased.  Before 1906, there were only about 15 buildings consisting of the range house, three mess halls, a kitchen, and administration building, four storehouses, carpenter shop, target house, stable and an observation platform.  By 1930, there were over 307 buildings consisting of 29 dwellings, 45 bath houses, 12 administration buildings, one canteen, one range house, 68 latrines, 85 enlisted men’s mess halls and kitchens, nine officers mess halls and kitchens, one observation platform, one carpenters shop, one blacksmith shop, six storehouses, 27 animal shelters, one grain elevator, one ice house, three target houses, one ordnance storehouse just west of the lake, 4 pump houses, one telegraph office.  By 1935 the final amount of buildings was over 340.                 There were over 7 ½ miles of macadam roads on the reservation.  Drinking water was supplied from artesian wells scattered over the area and pumped into reservoirs, with storage of over 475,000 gallons.  Water lines were run to every building needing water, using over 75,8000 feet of water pipe (about 14 miles).  Weimer Electric Co. of Lebanon supplied electricity to the reservation until 1924 when Met Edison took over after purchasing Wiemer Electric.  Bell Telephone had a 150 drop line switchboard and P.B.X.                 The Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad, a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, had sidings which were the property and care of the Reservation,  about 10,900 feet of rail.                 By 1930, a complete sewer system and disposal plant were built using 10 miles of pipe from 6” to 24” pipe diameter.                 One of the best athletic fields in the state was built using a natural bowl or ravine just east of the now Timbers.  A cinder track twenty feet wide was the center with three sloping walls to seat 5,000 spectators and 1200 athletes for participation in the events.                 They had their own lumber mill which cut and produced most of the lumber needed each year, about 41,000 board feet.  Also gave wood for cook stoves etc.                 Lake Duffy (named for Lt. Colonel Duffy, the first member of the National Guard Engineers to die in the service during World War I) supplied about 22 tons of ice, which were stored there and used by the Guard throughout the next year.                 Starting in 1920 with two horses and four mules, breeding started with the presentation of RECOUNT, an imported French station by Colonel H.W. Shoemaker, making it possible to furnish 294 State owned horses to troops in the Guard.  Over 700 sets of harness were stored here.  Each had to be washed, greased, and dressed.                 There were ranges for the 155 mm Howitzer,  37 mm mortars and 50 positions of rifle, 100 200, 300 yards and four 1000 yard positions.  Two pistol ranges.                 There was a large supply of parts for trucks, wagons etc.   Overhaul of these trucks was done here for the whole state.  When in 1930 pneumatic tires were installed instead of the old solid tires of the 1917 Liberty trucks, all work was done here in Gretna.                 In 1906, the first joint maneuvers of the National Guard and Regular Army were held here.  General Fred Grant was in charge and a very good mixing of Regular and National Guard was achieved.                 A variety of guns were used at Gretna for training.  During the Civil War all guns were muzzle loading except later in the war, a few cartridge guns such a Burnside Sharps were developed that used cartridges.  After the war, a lot of muzzle loading 1862-63-64-65 guns were converted to cartridge guns by cutting the breach and adding a so called trap door to put a cartridge in and taking out the empty.  It wasn’t until 1892 that a rifle with a magazine was developed.  That was the 30-40 Krog.  The Regular Army got the newer ones first and handed down the old one to the Guard, so when the Regular Army was fighting in Cuba, they had the Krog but the Reserves (Guard) still carried the old 45-70 trapdoors.  There were times when in a fight the Guard personnel were asked to stop firing the old smoky 45-70 so the Regulars could see the Cubans, the 30-40 being smokeless powder.                 In 1903, the Springfield was adapted for use.  It was used until World  War II when the Gerand was adapted.  There was some use of the Springfield in World War II as sniper rifles.  I have found spent bullets from all these guns, plus .38 and .45 pistol bullets at Gretna.                 In 1933, land was purchased in Indiantown Gap, and in 1934 they started moving back to the Gap but continued using the Gretna area for maneuvers until 1941 EQUIPMENT ISSUED TO A CAVALRY SOLDIER: Carbine, Pistol, Saber, with Pistol Belt and Lariat. McCleland Saddle, Saddle Blanket, Saddle Bags, Curry Comb and Brush. Two Spare Horseshoes and Horseshoe Nails Ammo, Rations, Cup, and Pocket Pin. Coat and Sleeping Blanket. Narration and List of Issue Equipment written in 1994 by: James Hunley of Mt. Gretna, a nephew of BGen and Mrs. Rodman Miller ******* RELOCATION TO INDIANTOWN GAP In 1929, however, when members of the State Legislature realized that an increasing trend toward militarism was developing throughout the world. It was decided that a State Military Reservation Commission would be convened for the purpose of determining whether or not it was feasible for Pennsylvania to improve Mount Gretna or purchase additional lands for a new reservation. The Commission, established under the -Administrative Code of 1929. was chaired by Major General William G. Price.  Other members included Brigadier General Edward C. Shannon,  Brigadier General Edward Martin, Brigadier General Frank D. Beary, Brigadier General W. S. McClean, Jr., Brigadier General Robert M. Brookfield, Colonel David J. Davis, Mr. John Longacre, and Mr. Harry B. McDowell. At a meeting held on December 4, 1930, "It was moved by General Martin, seconded by General McClean, that it was the sense of the Commission that it would be inadvisable to make further extensive developments at Mount Gretna, due to the proximity of the civil population and the danger to the life of the population when troop maneuvers were being held. Further, that it would be advisable for the State of Pennsylvania to purchase enough land at another point where the whole camp could be located, including a complete Division." From an article published in the May, 1931 issue of THE PENNSYLVANIA GUARDSMAN, it was pointed out that the following were considered to be defects of Mount Gretna as the permanent reservation for Pennsylvania: 1.  It was originally laid out with little planning for the future. 2.  It will be necessary to greatly expand the Reservation in order to take care of all the troops of the National Guard.  The land adjoining the Reservation at Mount Gretna, which is required for expansion, is valuable for agriculture purposes and almost prohibitive in price. 3.  By reason of the density of population, it is dangerous to conduct combat firing by the Infantry, and Artillery firing is prohibited. 4.  Roads on the Reservation are inadequate, improperly laid out and poorly constructed.  5.  Much of the land owned at Mount Gretna is without value for maneuver purposes by reason of the density of the underbrush.  The clearing of this land is very expensive and most difficult no keep in condition. 6  In order to teach Close Order Drill, it is necessary to have proper drill grounds.  This has never had any attention at Mount Gretna and will be expensive to carry out as much of the ground is rough and stony. 7.  Practically all of the buildings at Mount Gretna are temporary structures. The same article tells us that the Commission decided that the following reasons were justification for acquiring Indiantown Gap as the new location: 1.  Combat firing and Artillery practice. 2.  Land can be purchased to good advantage and at small cost. 3.  The camp can be laid out advantageously for training purposes. 4.   Roads can be constructed in order that the camp may be economically and properly served. 5.  All the units of the Division could be assembled at one time. 6.  There is ample water for the supply of all troops and animals and for bathing purposes. 7.  The firing of all arms can be conducted without interruption or fear of injury to civilians. 8.  The location is far removed from populated districts. 9.  Buildings can be so constructed that the major portion of the supplies and material not in use could be safely  stored, and the overhead during the greater part of the year. when the Reservation would not be in use, can be reduced to a minimum. 10.  Railroad facilities can be made available. In 1931. Governor Gifford Pinchot approved the Commission's decision and on April 10, authority was allocated for the acquisition of land in the vicinity of Indiantown Gap.  In 1932, the first land for Indiantown Gap Military Reservation was purchased.  Located 23 miles east of Harrisburg, 46 miles west of Reading, and l4 miles north of Lebanon, additional land was gradually purchased from local farmers until the total was in excess of 18,000 acres of land in Union Township, Lebanon County and Hanover Township in Dauphin County. The Installation was used for the first time when the Pennsylvania National Guard's 55th Infantry Brigade held its annual maneuvers at the Reservation in the summer of 1932.  The following Year, the 53rd Field Artillery took its training here, and in 1934, the 28th Infantry Division and the 52nd Cavalry Brigade were assembled at The Gap. ****** 4/10/31   Hist 1                  In 1931, Governor Pinchot approved the Commission's decision, and, on April 10, authority was allocated for the acquisition of land in the vicinity of Indiantown Gap. 1932                 Land was purchased for the Gap beginning in 1932, additional land was gradually purchased until the Gap reached its current size of nearly 18,000 acres. 1932                        Hist 1                 The installation was used for the first time when the Pennsylvania National Guard (55th Infantry Brigade) held its annual maneuvers at the Reservation in the summer of 1932. 1934 BUILDING OF THE CAMP 3rd Svc  Cmd PAO                 The first buildings on the new Reservation were Mess Halls erected in 1934. The Civilian Conservation Corps worked to convert the area into a training camp. During this process, workers found that many of the barns in the area of the artillery range had been built on the foundations of the old fortified barns built during the French and Indian War. Some of the old timbers were still blackened from powder burns. Two cemeteries had to be moved. The bodies were moved to the graveyards at Moonshine Church and Walmer's Church. Stones from some of the old houses that had to be torn down were used to build a large house for the use of the commander of the 28th Infantry Division during annual maneuvers.                 Marquette Lake, named for Sergeant Charles Marquette, a Lebanon County Native who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, is fed by Indiantown Run and has bass and trout. The 15 acre lake was built in 1939 by Pennsylvania National Guard engineers, the Work Project Administration (WPA) and the Pennsylvania Work Administration. 6/17/39   DAMH                 State-owned training camp, 3 miles from Lickdale Landing Field (emergency only) per GO 680.1 (6-17-39)M (Ret). 10/24/40  DAMH National Guard Campsite per AGO letter 24 Oct 40, AG 680.1 (9-11-40)  9/30/40  Hist 1                 On September 30, 1940, the State of Pennsylvania leased the Reservation to the Federal Government for $1 a year. NOTE: actual lease gives $1 for entire term of lease 9/30/40                Pennsylvania at War 1941-1945  Pennsylvania State Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, 1946.                 P. 20 The War Department took  over Indiantown Gap Military Reservation on 30 Sep. 1940. Workers arrived to begin construction ten days later. Originally there were 33 buildings. 10/9/40   Hist 1                 On October 9, 1940, construction began... Contracts were let to Ferguson and Edmondson Company, W.E. Trumble and Sons-­both of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Huffman-Wolfe Company of Columbus, Ohio. Gannett, Eastman and Fleming of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, performed the architectural work. During the entire building program Lieutenant Colonel William L. Kay was the Constructing Quartermaster.  Thirteen thousand workmen erected 1145 mobilization buildings, 187 theater of operations buildings and 79 permanent buildings.  Memorial lake, now a state park, was constructed for amphibious assault training.  The post also had a 400 bed hospital housed in 78 buildings covering 45 acres. An army of construction workers descended on the installation When they started there were 33 buildings on the reservation. These were mostly for equipment storage and stables. When the more than 12,000 workers were finished, they had constructed approximately 110 miles of roads, 43 miles of sewer lines, 155 miles of water lines, 1,552 buildings. Of these, 1,145 were designated as "temporary" and were intended to last five to ten years.  Fifty years later, these buildings are still designated with a 'T' for temporary. 10/24/40 DAMH                 redesignated Indiantown Gap Military Reservation (National Guard Camp Site) per AG 680.1 (9-11-40)M (Ret) M-C dated 10­24-40. (See also General Orders No. 2, War Department, 1941, amended by GO #5, WD June 11, 1941.) ******* The first buildings on the new Reservation were Mess Halls which were erected in 1934.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to convert the area into a training camp.  During this process, workers found that many of the barns in the area of the artillery range had been built on foundations of the old fortified barns built during the French and Indian War.  Some of the old timbers were still blackened from powder burns.  Two cemeteries had to be moved.  The bodies were moved to the graveyards at Moonshine church and Walmer's church. stones from some of the old houses that had to be torn down were used to build a large house for the use of the commander of the 28th Infantry Division during annual maneuvers. In the Fall of 1939, the peace of the world was once again broken as the relentless German Army spread unimpeded across Europe.  As time passed, it was apparent that the United States would assume a role as one of the characters in the European tragedy.  In order to prepare for that role, key installations throughout the nation were made ready.  Indiantown Gap was one of those. -On September 30. 1940, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania leased the Reservation to the Federal Government for $1.00.  The lease expired on the last day of June 1989 and was promptly renewed.  The current lease between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of General Services and the United States of America was made on 12  May 1989 and runs until 11 May  2049  It covers 17,797.22 acres (excluding 1388.93 state-controlled acres) in both Dauphin and Lebanon counties.  The cost is $1.00 for the term of the lease. However, more than just a transfer of state land to the federal government occurred with the federalization of Indiantown Gap.  A transition also occurred.  The one-time barren area of farm land in an atmosphere of tranquillity was transposed into a city of energetic activity. DESCRIPTION OF THE FORT UPON COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION On October 9, 1940, construction began with the intention of transforming the Gap into one of the most modern installations in the country.  Contracts were let to Ferguson and Demondson Company and W. E. Trumble and Sons, both of Pittsburgh, PA and to Huffman-Wolfe Company of Columbus, Ohio. Gannett, Eastman and Flemming of Harrisburg, PA, performed the architectural work.  During the entire building program, Lieutenant Colonel William L. Kay was the contracting Quartermaster. At its peak, 13,280 workmen were called in to transform the masses of raw material into necessities required to house and train troops in the essentials of modern warfare. They could construct one company street per day. Upon completion, there were 1,145 mobilization-type buildings, 187 theater of operations-type buildings, and 79 permanent-type buildings. Among the principal structures were Headquarters Buildings, three fire stations, two guest houses, a bus station, nine chapels, two service clubs, four theaters with a total seating capacity of approximately 3,500  persons, and a sports arena that could house approximately 4,000.  The station hospital was initially set up on January 27, 1941, in the infirmary building and remained there until March 1, when it was moved to the hospital area (Area 14).  The hospital covered 45 acres and comprised 78 buildings.  When it first opened, the hospital had 400 beds.  There were 39 wards, operating rooms, and a clinic building in the hospital with full surgical, medical, dental and nursing staffs.  The first medical detachment consisted of 49 officers, 274 enlisted men and 90 nurses. Before the "army" of construction workers descended on the installation. there were 33 buildings.  They were mostly for equipment storage and stables. When the workers were finished, they had constructed approximately 110 miles of roads, 43 miles sewer lines, 155 miles of water lines and 1,552 buildings.  Of these buildings, 1,145 were designated as "temporary" and were intended to last five to ten years.  Fifty-five years later, these buildings are still designated with a "T" for temporary. One of the outstanding facilities provided was a field artillery range which covered a distance of seven and one half miles.  The range, which was officially opened on March l9, 1941, when the 109th   Infantry went on line, is situated between the Blue and Second Mountains. ***** 11/9/41   3rd Svc Cmd PAO                 On Nov. 9, the Post's first chapel was dedicated with the principal addresses by Major General Pratt and J. Buell Snyder of Pennsylvania's 24th Congressional District, Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. ***** Realizing the potential importance of amphibious warfare, Army Engineers constructed a large lake on the Reservation at a cost of $288,997.  Named Memorial Lake as a tribute to the servicemen and women from Pennsylvania who participated in World Wars I and II, it covers 809 acres of ground and provided perfect facilities for drilling men in the amphibious phases of battle. Today, the lake is used as a recreational facility with fishing and sail boating permitted. ***** January 1942                Shelter For His Excellency, Le Roy Greene, Telegraph Press, Harrisburg, 1951.                 At the beginning of the war, Edward Martin was both adjutant General of Pennsylvania and the commander of the 28th Infantry Division. He lead the division in training at the Gap and later during training in Louisiana. During this time he lived in the fieldstone house near the main entrance of the post. Martin reached the Army's mandatory retirement age of 62 in January, 1942 and stepped down as division commander. He remained on duty with the Army in other capacities until he was selected as a gubernatorial candidate. He was released from federal service to run for office and won easily. Martin's predecessors in the governor's office had been complaining about the executive mansion in Harrisburg for years. Property had been acquired for a new mansion but political considerations and the war had prevented its construction. Martin and his wife avoided the Harrisburg mansion by moving into the House at Indiantown Gap that he had occupied as Adjutant General. They virtually ignored the official residence except for official functions. Martin justified his use of the Indiantown Gap house by the fact that it had been built as a military residence for the Pennsylvania National Guard and that since the governor was commander in chief of the national guard, it was his prerogative to live in it. Using two state owned residences caused some political trouble for Martin, but since he paid $40 a month in rent, which was comparable to other on-post housing rented to military officers, and since he paid for the additional household staff out of his own pocket, the controversy was dispelled. The house was built from stones and timbers from two old houses the firing range. The total cost to the Department of Military Affairs for the house was $36,658.29. ****** TROOPS ARRIVAL  --  POST OPERATIONS Once the camp was ready for occupancy, the history of the installation then became closely associated with that of the 28th Division whose new standard bearers were inducted from the National Guard into federal service on February 15, 1941.  The advance detachments of the 28th Division began arriving at Indiantown Gap on February 17, and various organizations of the Division continued to move in for the next several weeks.  During the weeks the 28th Division's personnel were reporting, the Camp was visited by members of the Brazilian Military Mission. On March 1, the 104th  Cavalry (Horse Mechanized), which was attached to the 28th Division, arrived.  Indiantown Gap was officially dedicated on March 3. 1941, with a 13 gun salute in honor of Brigadier General Edward Martin, the Commanding General of the 28th Division.  With opening ceremonies history, and the Division near its TO&E strength, the troops stationed at the installation settled down to the serious job of preparing for the huge task ahead. The artillery range was officially opened on March 19, 1941,  when the 109th Field Artillery went on line.  The range is between the Blue and Second Mountains. As of April 1, 1941, 1,138 buildings were ready but roads still left something to be desired as an article in the Pittsburgh Roto Press describes:  "A sea of mud is the way some persons describe the camp, but it is being conquered by tons of shale."  A photo accompanying the article shows men ankle deep in the mud.  A glimpse of Army life during this time is provided by the Roto Press article.  It gives some interesting statistics about the early days of the post.  "If your grocery order gives you a headache, look at this weekly list: 25,000 pounds of beef, 12,000 pounds of pork, 13,000 pounds of fish, 5,000 pounds of beef liver, 300 crates of oranges, 300 crates of grapefruits, 35o bushels of apples, 300 bunches of bananas, 70,000 loaves of bread, 10,000 pounds of butter, 10,000 half-pints of milk, 60,000 pounds of potatoes, 12,000 pounds of cabbage, l,500 dozen eggs."  According to the article, the post consumed 500 tons of coal per day during the winter and the cost of outfitting a soldier was $90.00.  Reveille sounded at 0615 on weekdays and 0715 on weekends. The first formal inspection of the new cantonment occurred on March 30.  It was made by Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum, commander of the First Army, and a 17 gun salute was fired in his honor. Major General Henry C. Pratt, commander of the Second Army Corps, accompanied Lt. Gen. Drum on the tour. In early April the camp was given its first "beauty treatment" when 24,746 gallons of cream and gray paint were obtained to paint the then bare buildings. On April 5, Governor James visited the camp.  He was given a 19 gun salute and then witnessed a full dress review of the 110th Infantry under the command of Colonel Albert King. The first soldier to die in the Post Hospital succumbed April 10, 1941.  He was Sergeant Eugene Kelly, 26, of Scranton, PA, who died of a blood clot in his lung. Theater service, with the showing of the latest full length films, shorts and newsreels was inaugurated during April.  Also in April ten Post Exchanges (PX) opened.  These were supplemented later so that there was a PX in each of the 17 areas comprising the camp. The Post was designated Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, RR 2, Jonestown, PA, by General Order 2, War Department, 14 April 1941. On April 26, 1941, Gene Autry, the singing cowboy star, gained the distinction of being the first movie personality to entertain on the Post when he gave a show for the Gap soldiers. In May, 1941, construction work on the largest Army laundry facility in the nation was completed.  The $500,000 complex, with a daily bundle capacity of 4,000, was formally opened on June 2.  Unfortunately, on March 18, 1944, the most disastrous fire in the Reservation's history occurred and the modern laundry plant was destroyed. The training activities and the personal activities of the men of the Camp were carried throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by weekly broadcasts over radio stations WACO and WIP, both of Philadelphia; WJAS, Pittsburgh; WBRE, Wilkes-Barre; WGBI, Scranton; and WLEU, Erie.  These programs utilized soldier talent to carry the message of the military back to the home front. The Service Club, a key point for entertainment on the Post, opened officially on May 27, with Mrs. Sylvia Shattuck of Washington as the Senior Hostess. Two days later, the Guest House, where relatives of Servicemen were accommodated for short visits, was ready for occupancy.  Three days after that, the Post Bakery was ready to turn out its first products. The address was changed by General Order 5, War Department. 11 June 1941 to Annville, Indiantown Gap Branch. MUIR FIELD.  On July 12, 1941, the overall training value of Indiantown Gap was improved when the first airplane, piloted by Major Edgar M. Scattergood, Air Officer of the 28th Division, landed on the newly dedicated Muir Field.  A modern landing field, Muir Field was constructed with a runway 3,400 feet long and 100 feet wide.  It was named in honor of Major General Charles H. Muir, the "Uncle Charley" of World War I days. By mid- summer, the 28th Division's troops approached battle sharpness and the Division and the 104th Cavalry went to the A.P. Hill Military Reservation in Virginia for maneuvers.  Once that test was passed successfully, the units returned to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation to make final preparations for a longer and more intensive test in the Carolina maneuver area. On November 9, 1941, the Post’s first chapel was dedicated with the principal addresses by Major General Pratt and J. Buell Snyder of Pennsylvania's 24th Congressional District, chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. 1/3/42     DAMH  ..  Upon departure of 28th Infantry Division from IGMR, the reservation was redesignated a staging area for NY POE and as such becomes an exempted station under command of Commanding General, New York Port of Embarkation per 370.5 (1-3-42) MSC-C-M dated January 3, 1942 as an interim arrangement pending activation of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Between January and December 1942, 63,391 troops were processed at the staging area prior to transportation overseas.    (OCMH Info Brief 28 Jul 69) 1/10/42   3rd Svc Cmd PAO                 With the change, [NYPE] the 1325th Service Unit ceased to operate under that name. Instead, it became known as the Station Complement with Col. James A. Stevens as its Commanding Officer, Lt. Col.  Alfred A. Williams, Executive Officer and Major Maurice Shulman, FA, as S-1 (Billeting Officer and later Administrative Officer). Major Shulman was charged with the planning and over-all supervision of the reception of divisions and separate units and preparation for overseas movement. 1/10/42   3rd Svc Cmd PAO                 The nature of Indiantown Gap as a military reservation was altered on Jan. 10, 1942, when the Commanding General of the New York Port of Embarkation assumed control and jurisdiction over the Reservation. 7/21/42   3rd Svc Cmd PAO                 Indiantown Gap enlarged the scope of its activities on July 21 when the Transportation Corps Unit Training Center was activated. The Training Center was established for the purpose of activating and training the personnel used in Port Battalions. WORLD WAR II The disposition of Indiantown Gap as a military installation was changed on January 10, 1942, when Major General Homer Groninger, commanding General of the New York Port of Embarkation, assumed control and jurisdiction over the Reservation.  With that takeover, the 1325th Service Unit halted operation under that name.  Instead, it became known as the Station Compliment with Colonel James A. Stevens as its commanding officer.  Major Maurice Shulman, Billeting officer and later Administrative officer, was charged with the planning and overall supervision of the reception of divisions and separate units and preparation for overseas movement. This was an interim arrangement pending the activation of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.  Between January and December of 1942, approximately 63,391 troops were processed at the staging area prior to transportation overseas. At the beginning of the war, Edward Martin was both Adjutant General of Pennsylvania and the Commander of the 28th Infantry Division.  He lead the Division in training at the Gap and later during training in Louisiana.  During this time he lived in the fieldstone house near main entrance of the Post.  Martin reached the Army's mandatory retirement age of 62 in January, 1942 and stepped down as Division Commander.  He remained on duty with the Army in other capacities until he was selected as a gubernatorial candidate.  He was released from federal service to run for office and won easily.  Martin's predecessors in the Governor's office had been complaining about the executive mansion in Harrisburg for years.  Property had been acquired for a new mansion but political considerations and the war had prevented its construction.  Martin and his wife avoided the Harrisburg mansion by moving into the house at Indiantown Gap that he had occupied as Adjutant General.  They virtually ignored the official residence except for official functions.  Martin justified his use of the Indiantown Gap house by the fact that it had been built as a military residence for the Pennsylvania National Guard and that since the Governor was Commander in Chief of the National Guard, it was his prerogative to live in it.  Using two state owned residences caused some political trouble for Martin, but since he paid S40 per month in rent (which was comparable to other on-Post  housing rented to military officers) and since he paid for the additional household staff out of his own pocket, the controversy was dispelled. The house was built from stones and timbers from two old houses torn down to build the firing range.  The total cost to the Department of Military Affairs for the house was $36,658.29. Upon departure of the 28th Infantry Division from Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, the reservation was redesignated a staging area for the New York Port of Embarkation.  As such it came under the command of the Commanding General, New York Port of Embarkation under an interim arrangement pending activation of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.  Between January and December of 1942, 63,391 troops were processed at the staging area prior to transportation overseas. Indiantown Gap Military Reservation enlarged the scope of its activities on July 21, 1942, when the Transportation Corps Unit Training Center was activated.  The Training Center was established for the purpose of activating and training the personnel used in Port Battalions.  One of the primary training aids was the presence of two dry-land ships, the SS Manada and the SS Susquehanna. Major Joseph S. Frelinghuysen of Far Hills, New Jersey was a First Lieutenant with First Army, First Division, when ordered in early July from Fort Benning, Georgia to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Annville, PA "the staging area for Army units leaving for Europe."  In his book “Passages to Freedom", Major Frelinghuysen describes the camp and departures as follows: "The camp was a veritable city.  Row upon row of white wooden barracks in rectangular patterns stretched to the rim of the mountains on the horizon. Unpaved roads and parade grounds separated buildings.  Everywhere, the brown, clinging dust blew in the glare of a roasting July sun.  Indiantown was gloomy place; I felt in the doomsday mood, the grim specter hanging over the tens of thousands of men waiting for the sentence of banishment that would come with orders to the port of embarkation.  The warnings came in sequence; first, all leaves were canceled.  Then wives and families had to go home, and men living off the Post moved into barracks.  In the last week of July, Emily (his wife) had come to Indiantown to stay at the old Hershey Hotel so we could steal a few of the remaining hours together.  On my last night with Emily, she wore an evening dress with a full green and rose colored skirt, and I put on my best garrison uniform  .... we had California champagne, lobster, and flaming crepes with ice cream.  We danced to same old tunes; Cole Porter's 'Night and Day' and Irving Berlin's tunes from 'Top Hat'.  Then they played a new one slowly, and an young girl sang the lyrics to 'The White Cliffs of Dover').  England had been at war for three years", he notes in explaining the song that speaks of "love and laughter" and "peace ever after". "We finished the dance in an embrace.  She took my hand and we walked out through the lobby onto the terrace for a last look at the gardens in the pale light of a quarter moon.  On 31 July 1942, the 5th  Division and the rest of the 1st  Division, 17,000 strong, went by rail to the New York Port of Embarkation, where we 'boarded the new battle-gray Cunard-White Star liner, Queen Mary." ***** Extract from "Life in Fredericksburg During the 1930's and 1940's By Charles L. Strouphar, Sr. as published in 'The Lebanon County Weekenders Stories", Published by Cover Story, Kapp Advertising Service, Inc --  January 10-11, 1998 The war put the Indiantown Gap on the map. As the different units were assembled and trained, they would leave by convoy for East coast ports to ship out. Route 22 went thru town, and we would sit on the curb and watch the trucks go by At the same tine, army half-tracks with radio signal finders would station themselves at various locations throughout the area. As it turned out, they finally caught a spy who lived along Route 22 east of the county line, who would radio to German U-boats every tine a convoy would pass through. The 3rd armored division was stationed at the Gap a longer period than any other unit.  As was the case with each unit, some of men had their wives with them and rented rooms in town.  My father was a Deputy Game Protector at the time.  Many of the men from the 3rd armored staying in town were hunters, and soon became friends.  They visited at the house with their wives and many an evening was spent telling stories and sampling some of the homemade wine my Dad made.  I remember a Floyd Guidry from Mississippi a Sam Feldman from Chicago, and Roland (Preach) Miller and Virginia from Parkersburg, W. Va.  I contacted them some time ago, they were surprised I remembered them.  Some of the men who stayed in town were killed in action.  The  77th or Statue of Liberty Division was hard hit, and most if those if not all who had rented rooms in town were killed. ****** On November 15, 1942, the US Government purchased 64.298 acres of land in Lickdale, PA for a railhead.  The Lebanon and Tremont Branch of the Reading Railroad Company ran from the main line of the railroad in Lebanon through Jonestown to this railhead, terminating at Suedberg, Schuylkill County. The Port commander retained control and jurisdiction until December 1, 1942 when that authority was turned back to the commanding General of the Third Service command. However, official correspondence and authority for that change did not reach Indiantown Gap Headquarters until late in December. During that year and in the first few months of 1943, Indiantown Gap handled soge-qf the great IGMRhting units which have made their mark in the final of military history. Included among these (in addition to the 28th Division) were the gallant 37th (Buckeye Division which carried the brunt of America's early land operations in the Southwest Pacific, the 98th Division, the famed lst Division, parts of the 5th Division, the 3rd and 5th Armored Divisions and the intrepid 77th (Statue of Liberty) Division, whose dogged determination played a key role in enabling General Douglas Mac Arthur to gain a new foothold on Leyte. With the removal of Indiantown Gap from the authority of the Port commander, the 1325th Service Unit was reactivated.    The first major fire on the installation occurred on February 27, 1943 at the Noncommissioned officers' club (Building 9-63). On April 6, 1943, the Army Emergency Relief opened its office to Provide speedy and efficient help for needy soldiers. The photographic sub-laboratory was established per Commanding General, 3rd service command on July 20, 1943. Indiantown Gap's first detachment of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) was activated August 15, 1943. On March 18, 1944, the most disastrous fire in the Reservation's history occurred when the modern laundry plant was destroyed. Under Secretary of War Robert Patterson visited the Post on April 1 and inspected the 95th Division, then in training here. On May 5, 1944, the Transportation Corps Training Center was redesignated the Army Service Forces Training Center. Attendees at the 36th Annual Governor's Conference, in session at Hershey, PA, visited the Reservation on May 28 and watched a review by troops of the 95th Division.  Colonel King was awarded the Reilly Medal at this ceremony in recognition of his 40 years of continuous service with the National Guard. A prisoner of war camp was active from June, 1944 until the spring of 1946.  Over 1,200 German and Italian prisoners were interned here. On June 20, 1944, the Third Service Command Staging and Assignment Center was organized on the Post. The Division Area of the Post was reestablished in an active status and reclassified from a Class II to a Class I installation under the command of the Commanding General, 3rd Service Command, effective as of October 18, 1944, under the provisions of Circular #306, WD, 1944.  This is in accordance with AR 170-10 and WD Circular #425, dated 31 Oct 44. The Army Service Forces Personnel Replacement Depot Section was transferred to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation from Camp Reynolds, PA on December 11, 1944.  Brigadier General Jesse A. Ladd, who had been the Commanding General at Camp Reynolds, was named to the same position here.  Colonel Taliaferro was selected Deputy Post Commander, with Colonel Russell C. Snyder as Commanding Officer of the Replacement Depot and Colonel F. E. Ambrose as the Commanding officer of the ASFTC. On January 25, 1945, Indiantown Gap's first camp newspaper, "The Tomahawk", published its initial issue.  The name was selected after a camp-wide contest in which 318 names were submitted.  The winning name was submitted by four enlisted men and an officer. The officers and men of the camp subscribed $652,523.92 for the sixth War Loan Drive. V-E DAY AND END OF WWII On May 8, 1945, V-E Day proclamations were issued by Major General Philip Hayes of the Third Service Command and Brigadier General Malcolm F. Lindsey of the Reservation.  General Lindsey addressed all Post officers at a gathering at the Sports Arena. On May 11, it was announced that the Army Forces Replacement Depot would be transferred from Indiantown Gap to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Simultaneous with this announcement, it was revealed that Indiantown Gap would become a War Department Personnel Center, with a Reception Center, a Reception Station and a Separation Center. On May 12, 1945, Major General Philip Hayes of Third Service Command, and Brigadier General Malcolm F. Lindsey and Governor Edward Martin reviewed the camp's assembled troops in a special ceremony as the Medal of Honor was presented to Mrs. Cora Roeder of Summit Station, Pennsylvania. The nation's highest military award was won by her son, Captain Robert Roeder for outstanding heroism in Italy. The Military Personnel section started its screening of Post soldiers eligible -for discharge under the War Department's newly inaugurated "point system". May 13 was observed as a Day of Prayer at the Camp in accordance with the desire of President Harry S. Truman.  Special services were held in all chapels. **** 12/4/45   3rd Svc Cmd PAO                  The Hospital covers forty-five (45) acres and comprises 78 buildings. When first opened the Hospital had 400 beds. This later was increased to the planned capacity of 1200 beds. There are thirty-nine ( 39) wards, operating rooms and a clinic building in the Hospital with full surgical, medical, dental and nursing staffs.  The first Medical Detachment consisted of 49 Officers, 274 Enlisted Men and 90 Nurses.                 Like the other lakes on post, Memorial Lake was originally built for  training soldiers in amphibious assault techniques.  Constructed in 1945, the 85 acre lake has since become a state park.  Also fed by Indiantown Run, the lake contains bass, northern pike, hybrid tiger muskellunge, perch, bluegills and catfish.  1945                       "Fort Indiantown Gap SoundOff"  December 1992                  With all the furor going on about finding American POW's in foreign countries, it is surprising when four POW's show up, German POW's that were held in this country during World War Two. Hermann Peters, Erich Gilster, Andreas Neuhauser and Ernst Rinder visited post on September 16, 1992. The  group of former German POW's showed up at USAG Headquarters looking for someone who could show them the area's they had been kept in as prisoners in 1945. The four men and their wives, along with two American friends whom had arranged for them to visit toured the Gap, visited familiar sites and shared stories of their imprisonment during W.W.II. "We didn't think we'd ever come back," said Ernst Rinder, who was able to interpret for his friends who spoke varying degrees of English.  Rinder who moved to America after the war and now lives in Lancaster has had the opportunity to visit the Gap in the past but said that he had only been here a few times.  "It is more active now than then," he said. The former POW's were very excited when they visited the place that they had been kept during W.W.II, a grouping of barracks with a field in the middle in area 10. They had many memories of the time spent there.  The field that was between the barracks was their sports field and they recall many games played there.  The field is now fenced and occupied by Army vehicles. While walking around the area they had been housed in they shared many stories about the time they had spent there. Hermann Peters remembers the black soldiers taunting them from the other side of the fence. "They would call 'Hail Hitler' at us from the other side of the fence and raise their arms in the German salute," he said. Peters remembers being sent out to farms to help the farmers. "We would get up at 5:30 in the morning and would be counted and marched to work on nearby farms." Although they were allowed visitors from American relatives, association with the locals was discouraged. They also were not allowed to receive any outside news.  "We had no access to papers, news", said Rinder,” a few ham radio operators would pass on victorious American news, but we mostly learned what was happening by what the new prisoners could tell us about what had happened since we were captured and where the front line was when they were captured." The Germans had a wide variety of stories to tell about their time as POW's, most of which were good. Erich Gilster who was a 23-year-old parachutist in the German Air Force recalls that it wasn't until he arrived in America that he was fed well and allowed to take a shower. "I was glad when I was captured," said Ernst Rinder, “I had been wounded three times already." The hardest part of being captured for Gilster was that his family didn't know what had happened to him. But the guards eventually let them write to their families and prisoners were encouraged to contact American relatives, said Gilster. One POW shared a story about how the prisoners relieved boredom before they were sent to the Gap and the work camps here.  "The guards brought bread in paper bags in a big basket. When we had eaten our bread we would, huff huff huff, and boom! the bag would pop!" said Erick Gilster who was captured in 1944, with a laugh. They remembered working in the chow halls that were in three big buildings, one of which was bldg 5-115.  Their memories of the Gap vary from church services in the post chapel to hauling coal in the winter for the furnaces. The Gap was not the only place that they visited while they were in America. They spent most of their time at the former site in Stewartstown where they were sent to work, as Stewartstown was a branch of the base camp at the Gap. Stewartstown was a summer tent city between June and October in 1944 and 1945. The winters were spent in area 10. The Germans were not only happy to see their old quarters here on the Gap, but also got the treat of examining a Harley Davidson motorcycle belonging to LTC Michael Nicholson, the acting Post Commander.  They had just visited the Harley Davidson factory in York the day before said their friend and host, Margaret Shaub. Ft. Indiantown Gap, known then as the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, was one of the largest camps in Pennsylvania with an average POW population 1,260, according to statistics of the National Archives and Records Service in Washington, DC 4/30/46   DAMH                 The Station Hospital is discontinued effective 30 April 1946- per GO #50; HQ. Third Service Command, Baltimore 2, Md., dated 19 April 1946. 4/30/46   DAMH                 Effective as of 30 April 1946, the WD has placed IGMR in an inactive status - per ASF Cir. #132, dated 29 May 1946. 6/12/46   DAMH                 Effective 12 June 1946, IGMR is reclassified as a class I installation under the jurisdiction of the CG, Second Army, iaw WD Cir. #138, 1946 - per WD Cir. #169, dated 11 June 1946.                 Foregoing is rescinded. Effective 25 Sept. 1946, IGMR is reclassified as a class I installation under the jurisdiction of the CG, Second Army, iaw WD Cir. #138, 1946 - per WD Cir.  #292, dated 25 Sept. 1946. 12/1/46   Hist 1                  Training Center inactivation was announced on December 1, 1946.  6/30/48  DAMH                 2102d ASU, IGMR reorganized under T/D No. 202-1102 (30 Sep 47), HQ. Second Army, Fort George G. Meade, Md. Same reorganized under T/D No. 202-1102, Second Army, Fort George G. Meade, Md., dated 29 Feb 48.  2102d ASU Station Complement (Caretaker) reorganized under T/D No. 202-1102, HQ. Second Army, Fort George G. Meade, dated 30 June 1948. ******* DEMOBILIZATION On May 31, 1945, it was announced that the Separation Center would begin operation on June 10.  In June the Post was designated as a separation center for soldiers from Pennsylvania, Ohio and lower Michigan.  From June 10, 1945 to March 23, 1946 over 449,569  troops spent their last days as a soldier at the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation. The formal activation of the Separation Center and the Reception Station took place on July 1.  Colonel George P. Seneff was named Commanding Officer of the Separation Center and Major Willis K. Whichard was Commanding Officer of the Reception Station. The Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League defeated the Indiantown Gap team 8 to 0 in a game on July 9 at Muir Field. Brigadier General Malcolm F. Lindsey presented the Medal of Honor to Mrs. Leona Bell Turner of Nescopek, Pennsylvania on July 11, 1945.  The medal was won by her son, Sergeant Day G. Turner. The Training Center was designated as an Assembly Station for Adjutant General troops on July 19. The news of the unconditional surrender of Japan on August 14, 1945, was received with rejoicing by camp soldiers.  V-J Day proclamations were issued by Major General Philip Hayes of the Third Service Command and Brigadier General Malcolm F. Lindsey of the Reservation.  General Lindsey addressed all Post Officers at a gathering at the Sports Arena.  "The Tomahawk" issued a special edition to mark the occasion. A sweeping reorganization of the Separation Center was announced on September 13, 1945, and the center was divided into three units:  two of which were to handle enlisted personnel and the third for exclusive handling of officers.  In mid-September, the discharge rate of the Separation Center passed the 1,000-a-day mark for the first time. Three members of a Congressional committee visited the Post on September 28 and 29 to view the operations of the Separation Center.  The Congressmen were Rep. Robert L. F. Sykes (D, FL); Rep. J. Leroy Johnson (R, CA) and Rep. Chet Hollifield (D, FL). Transfer of the Indiantown Gap Reception Center to Fort Meade, MD, was announced on October 11, 1945. The Separation Center attained an average of 3,000 releases a day for the final week of October, when 22,526 separatees were processed. Staff Sergeant Norvill Griest of Philadelphia had the distinction of being the 200,000th  soldier discharged at Indiantown Gap when he was processed for separation on November 20, 1945. The inactivation of the Training Center was announced on December 1,-1945. The announcement brought to a close the vital role that the Training Center had played in the conduct of the war from July, 1941 until the present. The Station Hospital was discontinued effective April 30, 1946, per  General Order #50, HQ, Third Service Command, dated April 19, 1946. Effective April 30, 1946, the War Department had placed Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in an inactive status per ASF Circular #132 dated May 29, 1946.  Effective June 12, 1946, IGMR is reclassified as a Class I installation under the jurisdiction of the Commanding General, Second Army in accordance with WD Circular #138, 1946 and WD Circular #292, dated September 25; 1946. On June 11, 1946, the foregoing was rescinded.  Effective September 25, 1946, IGMR is reclassified as a Class I installation under the jurisdiction of the CG, Second Army in accordance with WD Cir. #138, 1946 and WD Cir #292, dated Sept 25, 1946. Inactivation of the Training Center was announced December 1, 1946. INTERMEDIATE YEARS BETWEEN WARS On June 30, 1948, the 2102nd Army Service Unit was reorganized under Table of Distribution 202-1102 (30 Sep 47), HQ, Second Army, Fort George G. Meade, MD.  It was reorganized under T/D 202-1102, Second Army, Fort Indiantown Gap. George G. Meade, MD, dated 29 Feb 48.  2102nd Station Complement (Caretaker) reorganized under T/D 202-1102, HQ Second Army, Ft. George G. Meade, MD, dated 30 Jun 48. 2/3/49                 Whatever Happened To Those Forty And Eights? By Lt. Col. (Ret) Manuel A. Conley, USA                 (This article was published in the January, 1983 edition of The Retired Officer Magazine.  It is reprinted here by the author's permission.)                  They arrived in American aboard an ocean freighter on Feb. 3, 1949.  During two wars they had served France as dual-purpose railway haulers of the military  cargoes stenciled on their sides: "Hommes 40-Chevaux 8." But now the stubby little boxcars held neither men nor horses.  Instead, each was crammed with precious gifts for the United States of America. All had been recently decorated with plaques bearing the coats of arms of the 40 provinces of France.  Across their sides, upon the tri-colored bands, was printed the name of the enterprise for which they stood-on one side "Train de la Reconnaissance Francais" and on the other "Gratitude Train."                 The Train was an expression of thanks from the citizens of France to the people of  America for aid rendered during and after World War II. This aid had reached soul-stirring intensity in 1947 when some $40 million in relief supplies were collected in the American Friendship Train for shipment to war-stricken France and Italy. The project, initiated by newspaper columnist Drew Pearson, resulted in  the distribution of more than 700 carloads of food, fuel and clothing to Europe's homeless and destitute.  Not an official government program, but rather a grass roots, people-to-people effort, the American Friendship Train carried personal contributions from individuals in every part of America. It was the American Friendship Train that inspired a rail worker and war veteran named Andre Picard to suggest that France reciprocate. His original idea was to present the United States with  a decorated Forty and Eight boxcar loaded with gifts representative of his country--wines from Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and the Loire Valley; white lace headdresses from the Brittany-Normandy hills; perfumes and hats from Paris; and clay Immures from Province.  A local veterans organization adopted the proposal, and a committee was established to solicit gifts.                 The response from the citizenry was immediate and overwhelming.  Despite the  economic hardships brought by years of war, hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands, came forward with gifts of gratefulness.                 As press and radio spread the story, the project gained national momentum.  The government announced its official approval; the French Academy issued a ringing endorsement' and hundreds of professional, social and fraternal organizations  asked to participate.  Clearly a single boxcar would not be enough.  Superseding the local committee, the National Headquarters of the French War Veterans Association took control  and decided to fill 49 cars with gifts.  One would go to each of the 48 states, and the 49th would be shared by the District of Columbia and the territory of Hawaii.  During the summer of 1948, volunteers manned collection stations in cities, villages and countryside's, while all across the nation, trainmen scoured rail yards, sidings and depots for Forty and Eights.                 The selection of these superannuated boxcars as merci carriers was a thoughtfully appropriate choice.  Not only did their use allow an exchange of train for train, but the Forty and Eights themselves possessed  symbolic significance. During World War I, millions of khaki-clad Yanks, carried by steel Pullman sleepers to Atlantic ports, landed in France to find awaiting them these rickety wooden cars.  Built between 1872 and 1885, the 12-ton, 29-foot, four wheeled rail carriages were first used as general-purpose freight haulers, then later converted to troop and animal transports for wartime service.  With their protruding button type buffers and chain-link couplings, the antiquated conveyances appeared at once exotic and outlandish to their combat-bound passengers.                 The Americans were alternately enchanted and disgusted, intrigued and infuriated by the little dual-purpose cars. Sometimes they were just plain confused.  In The Doughboy-The Story of the AEF,  Laurence Stallings tells of one sergeant who reported to his leader: "I got all my 40 artillerymen in the boxcar, lieutenant.  But if you try to put eight of our horses in, somebody's going to be trampled to death." In the 1920s, some veterans, with memories of fateful rail journeys across France, formed a fraternal group which took its name from the cars.  Established as a subsidiary of the American Legion, La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux included thousands of Voyageurs Militarire organized at the national, state and local levels. Following World War II, its membership was bolstered by a whole new generation of veterans who remembered with mixed emotion the rough-riding old cars.                 But the lading of amity carried by the Gratitude Train was not intended for one exclusive group.  These ornamented Forty and Eights were consigned to all the people of America, just as they had been dispatched to all the people of France.                 Although many in that war-ravaged country had little but sentiment to offer, more than six million families helped to fill the cars.  Most of the 52,000 carefully packaged and crated gifts were worth little in money, Yet, some were priceless.  They included childish drawings on rough, yellowed paper; puzzles mounted on cardboard frames; ashtrays made of broken mirrors; worn-down wooden shoes; hand-crocheted doilies; battered toys; the original bust of Benjamin Franklin by the great French Sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon; a jeweled Legion d'Honneur once presented to Napoleon; the bugle which signaled the Armistice signing at Compiegne in 1918; 50 rare paintings; a Louis XV carriage; and the first motorcycle ever built.                 And there was more. The Society of Parisian Couturiers contributed an exquisite set of 49 little mannequins dressed in fashions from 1706 to 1906. The president of France donated an equal number of delicate Sevres vases. One of the Marquis de Lafayette's descendants presented his ancestor's walking stick.  A disabled veteran offered a wooden gavel he had carved from a tree in Belleau Wood.  There were new bicycles and old bicycles and just bicycle wheels.  A church in La Courtene surrendered its bell; the city of Lyon provided dozens of silk wedding dresses; and an anonymous donor chipped in a set of black lingerie intended "for a beautiful blonde."                 According to newspaper accounts, as the Forty and Eights were being painted, one poor woman rushed past the workmen and announce, "I have nothing else to send.  I will send them my fingerprints."  So saying, she pressed her fingers into the fresh paint.  As one American was later moved to remark, "They gave so much from their little, while we gave so little from our abundance."                 By the end of 1948 the boxcars were filled to capacity. The train, carrying more than 250 tons of gratitude, was assembled at Paris and pulled to the port of La Havre for transshipment to America.  Even as the Forty and Eights were being loaded aboard the merchant ship Megellan, more presents poured in. More than 9,000 gifts had to be left behind on the docks.                 When the Megellan reached its destination, The New York Times reported "a din surpassing that afforded the maiden arrival of an ocean passenger queen."  Greeted by a flotilla of small boats, the gaily beflagged freighter, emblazoned amidships with the huge inscription "Merci, America," steamed proudly into New York Harbor while overhead waves of Air Force planes roared by in aerial salute.  As the port resounded with ringing bells and wailing sirens, escorting fireboats turned their powerful nozzles skyward and sent towering columns of spray into the wintry sunlight.  For a few glorious moments, the once-humble ore carrier was the envy of her country's merchant marine. The ship docked at Weehawken, N.J., and the following day unloaded through the voluntary services of local stevedoring companies.  Normal customs procedures were waived:  President Truman had signed into law a special resolution permitting the train and its cargo to enter the United States duty free. Since their wheels were about eight inches wider than American rails, the Forty and Eights were hoisted onto flatcars for their overland journey.  Trainmen the sorted them into three sections for shipment to the South, West and New England.  In the meantime, the New York car was placed aboard a lighter and transported to Manhattan where it was trundled up Broadway amid swirling ticker tape as 200,000 people roared a tumultuous "you're welcome" to the people of France. For the next several weeks, similar scenes in varying degrees of magnitude, were repeated throughout the nation.                 As far as practicable the Forty and Eights, hauled without charge by the Association of American railroads, were routed to retrace the movements of the Friendship train; and one by one, they were delivered to the various state capitals. In city after city, dignitaries assembled, parades were held and thousands gathered to witness the colorful ceremonies.  All across the nation, Americans went all-out to welcome France's Merci train.                 Each state established committees to catalog and distribute its share of the cargo.  In most cases the gifts were initially exhibited in capitals or major cities and then sent on state-wide tours.  Afterwards, the were distributed in a variety of ways.  A few, addressed to specific individuals or institutions, were delivered in accordance with the sender's wishes. In some states, the contents were sold at auction and the proceeds given to charities; elsewhere, selected items were turned over to veterans hospitals, orphan homes, schools and churches. Articles suitable for permanent display were generally placed in state and private museums, libraries and other public institutions.                 Some of the gifts posed particular problems.  For example,  many of the cars contained young oak and beech trees intended to serve as "living reminders of the enduring friendship between the French and the Americans."  But Department of Agriculture experts, recalling disastrous experiences with Dutch elm disease and Japanese beetles, eyed the little trees with suspicion.  Citing federal quarantine laws, they ordered the seedlings placed in state observation plots for at least two years before they would certify them for permanent planting.                 At least two states came up with novel methods for bestowing the wedding ensembles sent by the City of Lyon.  In Oregon, senior high school girls vied for their state's dress by entering an essay competition on the value of the Friendship and Gratitude trains, while in Connecticut, a state wide measuring -in contest was held for 175 June brides-to-be.  The lucky New England Cinderella not only received the wedding outfit, but also prizes from sponsoring Hartford merchants, which included a free honeymoon trip to Lyon so she could personally thank the donors. In certain instances special presentations were made. Among the articles in the Vermont car was a statuette of a catamount, which by coincidence was the mascot of the University of Vermont athletic teams.  It was given to that school at its annual sports banquet with the provision that each year on Bastille Day, a cablegram of greeting be sent to the president of the Amateur Athletic Association of France from the university's team captains.                 In the New York car, a reproduction of the famous Joan of Arc bell, specially cast for the Gratitude Train by the City of D'Annecy, was found marked for Cardinal Spellman to place as he saw fit.  At a solemn ceremony attended by hundreds, the 500-pound bell, engraved with the inscription "I am the ambassadress that sings gratitude and friendship," was turned over to New York's St. Patrick's cathedral.  It was hung at the right side of the church, just inside the main entrance alongside the American flag which had flown above the battleship New York at Pearl Harbor.                 The territory of Hawaii had no problems with the distribution of gifts.  Its boxcar, which was supposed to be shared with the District of Columbia, first stopped at the nation's capital enroute to the future island state.  There, before moving on, the Forty and Eight was emptied of everything.  Hawaii (which had sent two carloads of sugar in the friendship train) got a boxcar full of packing straw.                 As for the Forty and Eights themselves, little difficulty was encountered in finding suitable homes.  Most were entrusted to veterans organizations; some were placed in museums; some incorporated into memorials; others given to fairgrounds and city parks.                 One state, however, did run into unexpected complications.  The Missouri Forty and Eight was scheduled to be exhibited at the state’s Capitol Museum, but it was just 15 inches too long to fit inside.  Lacking alternatives, state authorities parked the car where they thought it would be most secure: inside the walls of the Jefferson County State Penitentiary.  There the immured boxcar sat for almost a year, until bailed out through the joint efforts of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Forty and Eight Society. Moved to the fairgrounds at Sedalia, its dignity was restored with a fresh coat of paint and a permanent site for display. Over the years it has remained there, a major historical attraction to Missouri fairgoers.                 Nebraska's car wasn't so lucky.  Shunted from place to place, it went first to the State Historical society, then to the Nebraska Forty and Eight organization, and finally to the fairgrounds.  In 1951, an attempt was made to return it to the Historical Society, but they didn't want it.  So for $45 it was sold to an Omaha junkyard, its wheels and metal parts pounded into scrap and its body converted into a storage shed.  Its humiliation finally ended in 1961, when the yard was relocated and the car demolished.                 The gifts from the train, scattered to a thousand places, are almost impossible to trace.  Some, like the Joan of Arc bell given to St. Patricks have simply disappeared. The bell was removed a few years ago when the cathedral was renovated, and now church officials have no idea what became of the "ambassadress that sings of gratitude and friendship." Nor does anyone know the whereabouts of the catamount statuette presented at the 1949 sports banquet.  The ritual of sending an annual Bastille Day greeting, if it ever was observed, has long since been discontinued.  And most of the young trees, like those shipped in the Nebraska car, failed to survive the rigors of the North American climate.  It is known that scores of museums and libraries around the country still exhibit, or at least store, items sent in the train. But for the most part, time has blurred the connection between these articles and the undertaking which brought them.                 Today there are no fewer than 39 cars from the Gratitude Train on public display.  They, and many of the gifts they carried, still serve to remind us of that splendid gesture sent by the people of France almost half a century ago. After WWII, the Adjutant General, Lieutenant General  (then Brigadier General) Frank A. Weber was appointed the administrator of the Post so the training of Guard and "Organized Reserves" could be carried out more efficiently.  In 1948, General Weber handled the quartering of more troops than there were in the entire Second Army in an experiment to get maximum use of the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, which had been idle year round except for two weeks of summer training.  General Weber repeatedly boasted that he could put an additional 10,000 under canvas.  No other state in the country had such an ambitious peacetime camp schedule as that conducted by General Weber from mid-June to early September, 1949.  This was the result of the success of the previous year’s venture.  The Gap became known as a "furnished house" for more than 30,000 National Guardsmen and Organized Reserve soldiers from Pennsylvania and neighboring states.  As Lieutenant General Leonard T. Gerow, then commander of Second Army summed it up, "This is something we all talked about for years as an ideal training set-up ..... then Bridgie Weber does it without batting an eye. KOREAN WAR Realizing that the Korean Emergency was going to require the training of thousands of men, General Weber instigated a personal campaign to have the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation reactivated for this purpose.  He realized that the Government and the Commonwealth would mutually benefit if the spacious Reservation were used for training. Here existed an ideal encampment that would "fill the bill" and give hundreds of Pennsylvanians gainful employment.  The Department of the Army recognized the extensive benefits of activating "The Gap” and concurred with General Weber in this regard by official orders for activation of the Reservation on 23 January 1951 under the federal government’s jurisdiction. The Reservation was to be ready for occupancy by February 1, 1951 and on March 1, 1951, the US Army Hospital, IGMR, was authorized to operate at 100 beds, per letter from the Office of the Surgeon General. On March 4, 1951, Department of the Army General Order Number Six, established the Fifth Division (Training) at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation with its initial complement.  Returning to its role of a training center, manned by the 5th Infantry Division, it ultimately trained some 32,000 soldiers for duty in Korea. General Weber, as Reservation Advisor, in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers, managed to instigate an immense "face-lifting" program in June, 1951.  The facilities of the large post were in a state of serious neglect due to the fact that no major maintenance projects had been undertaken since World War Two.  The face-lifting program called for the painting and renovation of all buildings.  A total of $53,788,624.20 in Federal funds was expended or obligated during this period on the rehabilitation of Indiantown Gap Military Reservation.  Roofing costs were over half a million dollars.  All of these “temporary” buildings were painted --  white with green trim, General Weber’s favorite colors!  During the period of June 25, 1951 through August 31, 1952, civilian payroll was $4,497,418.63.  Communications cost $128,827.61.  5th Infantry Division (Training) gave IGMR a military population of over 17,000 troops.  During mobilization for the Korean Conflict, regular training for the National Guard was carried out simultaneously. 1/23/51   DAMH                  Effective 23 January 1951, Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Annville, Pa., was returned to active status to be ready for occupancy 1 Feb 51, per radio, DA, 42437 (Jan 51), 26 Jan 51. (See also GO 3, Department of the Army, 6 Feb 51 and GO 66, HQ Second Army, 5 Mar 51.)  3/1/51    DAMH                 US Army Hospital, IGMR, had 100 beds authorized for operation on 1 Mar 51, per letter Office Surgeon General, File MEDDD-DO 632.2, 2 April 51. 3/4/51  "Indiantown Gap Military Reservation," pp 7-9 The Pennsylvania Guardsman, Vol.  54 No.  4, Winter, 1954                 On March 4, 1951, Department of the Army General Order Number Six set up the Fifth Division (Training) at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation with its initial complement.