"Back at the Gap" BACK AT THE GAP Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) Gap becomes vital Army training post in ‘41 13th in a series 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. Indiantown Gap was officially dedicated on March 3, 1941, with a 13 gun salute in honor of Major General Edward Martin, the Commanding General of the 28th Division and Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. With opening ceremonies history, and the Division near its authorized 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, about seven miles long and two miles wide, is situated between the Blue and Second Mountains and between Indiantown Gap and Manada Gap. 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 that time was also 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, 350 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, 1,500 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 General 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, 1941 Governor Arthur H. James visited the camp. He was given a 19 gun salute and then witnessed a full dress review of the 110th Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard, under the command of Colonel Albert King. Shortly thereafter, 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 opened. These main PX’s were later supplemented 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 War Department General Order 2, 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 of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and 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 mailing address was changed by War Department General Order 5, 11 June 1941, to Annville, Indiantown Gap Branch. 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. IGMR soon became a very active Army post. In fact, the Gap was one of the nation's most important Army training camps, serving as the staging area for the New York Port of Embarkation. Our own Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Infantry Division was among the units given final training at the Gap, prior to being shipped overseas. Others were the 3rd Armored Division, and the 1st, 5th, 37th, 77th and 95th Infantry Divisions. Between January and December 1942, 63,391 troops were processed at the Indiantown Gap staging area prior to transportation overseas. Upon departure of 28th Infantry Division from IGMR, the reservation was redesignated as a staging area for the New York Port of Embarkation on January 10, 1942 and the Commanding General of the New York Port of Embarkation, Major General Homer Groninger, assumed control and jurisdiction over the Reservation. 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 to activate and train Post Battalions personnel. Consisting mainly of black troops, the purpose of their training was to facilitate the movement of troops, equipment and supplies from the loading docks onto cargo ships. One of the primary training aids was the presence of three dry-land ships, the SS Manada, the SS Swatara and the SS Indiantown (named after the three gaps in Blue Mountain). These three full scale mock up Victory ships were constructed at the east end of the Post and simulated cargo vessels for use in teaching stevedore duties to the soldiers to load and off-load cargo and troops. This intensive training was conducted on three different shifts, 24 hours a day during World War II. The black soldiers were housed in Area 16 in separate barracks that utilized pot-bellied stoves for heating. My next article will continue to describe the increased tempo at the Gap. -- 30 -- Published in the Lebanon Daily News, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author. Go "Back at the Gap" Index