"Back at the Gap" BACK AT THE GAP Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) Lake, airfield, name change major moves at Gap 12th in a series Progress continued on the construction of the military facilities at the Gap. The Army Engineers constructed Marquette Lake for amphibious training. Marquette Lake, named for Sergeant Charles Marquette, a Lebanon County native who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic action during his service with the 93rd Regiment in the Battle of Petersburg, Virginia. The 15 acre lake was built in 1939 by Pennsylvania National Guard engineers, the Work Project Administration and the Pennsylvania Work Administration. WPA was created in the mid-1930s by Congress upon President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” in his efforts to provide employment to the many unemployed workers caused by the Great Depression. Marquette Lake proved to be an excellent training site for amphibious training. A log wall about 25 feet high was built along the east side of the lake whereby soldiers would practice lowering themselves on a huge rope netting, to simulate offloading from the deck of a ship, onto the amphibious vehicle below called a Duck. The soldiers would also do the reverse and practice climbing up the rope netting from the Duck to get back on the deck of the ship. Another unique feature was an airfield -- and that's where all the Army helicopters fly out of today. 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. Considered to be a very modern landing field at that time, it was constructed with a runway 3,400 feet long and 100 feet wide. That really was a good size for that time (it’s 3,800 feet in length today). The field was named in honor of Major General Charles H. Muir, the "Uncle Charley" of World War I days. What the Army forgot to do, however, was to build the runway in the direction of the prevailing wind. Anyone who knows anything about flying knows that runways should be built on a level piece of ground and in the direction of the prevailing wind. But the Army Corps of Engineers, in their great wisdom, built the runway in a northeast - southwest direction. Probably not intentionally, but there is also a big hump half way down the runway which could surprise anyone who is unfamiliar with that landing strip. And at Indiantown Gap, the prevailing wind blows out of the gap in the mountains from the northwest. Thus, there is a permanent crosswind built into the runway under normal weather conditions that I can personally attest to, having flown Air Force fixed-wing aircraft in and out of Muir Field many times. The point of all this is -- in my opinion -- if God had intended the Army to fly, He would have made the sky brown, not blue! And even with all my years of experience in dealing with the Army, I couldn't get the Army to change the runway orientation. But perhaps you remember that when General Custer left, he told the Army not to change anything until he got back .... and they haven't! But I digress …. obviously, I’m kidding and my opinion reflects inter-service rivalry. The fact is, Army Aviators are very professional and perform in an outstanding manner. Getting back to 1940, at the beginning of the war, Edward Martin was both Adjutant General of Pennsylvania and the Commanding General of the 28th Infantry Division. He led 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 relinquished his command of the 28th Division in January 1942, but remained on duty with the Army in other capacities until he was selected as a gubernatorial candidate. He was released from his military duties to run for office and won easily. Governor Martin took office on January 19, 1943 and served until January 3, 1947, when he resigned to become a U.S. Senator. He served as a U.S. Senator until 1951. Martin's predecessors in the governor's office had been complaining about the executive mansion in Harrisburg for years. I can understand why. I remember it as a narrow, dark building on Front Street. Property had been acquired for a new mansion in Harrisburg 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 from the firing range. The total cost to the Department of Military Affairs for the house was $36,658.29. 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 during the next several weeks. Indiantown Gap was officially dedicated on March 3, 1941, with a 13 gun sal ute in honor of Major General Edward Martin, the Commanding General of the 28th Division and Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. Many military and political officials wanted to name the Gap in General Martin’s honor, but he declined. General Martin liked the name “Indiantown Gap” so he insisted that it be named Indiantown Gap Military Reservation (or IGMR) because of the former Indian villages that had occupied the area. I am personally aware of General Martin’s views concerning the name of the Gap because in 1965 I served as his personal escort during our attendance at a National Guard conference in Arizona, so I had the opportunity to discuss many Guard matters with him. During our conversations, General Martin told me how the Gap obtained its name and why he insisted in the Gap being named Indiantown Gap Military Reservation. General Martin died in 1967, so he never learned that, in the early 1970’s, unbeknownst to those of us stationed at IGMR, some well meaning veterans organizations had the named changed by the State Legislature to “Edward Martin Military Reservation”. Road signs were changed, but those of us the Gap continued to call it Indiantown Gap Military Reservation because we were well aware of General Martin’ s personal wishes. The controversy (if it could be called that) was resolved when on May 1, 1975, the Secretary of the Army announced an official name change. Henceforth, “IGMR” was to be known as “Fort Indiantown Gap -- and so that official name continues today. In my next article, I’ll describe how, after the opening ceremonies, the 28th Division stationed at the Gap settled down to the serious job of preparing for the huge task ahead. -- 30 - - Published Lebanon Daily News, Wednesday, 21 April 2004 © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author.   Go "Back at the Gap" Index