"Back at the Gap" BACK AT THE GAP Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) World War II put Indiantown Gap on map 18th in a series Charles L. Strouphar, a resident of nearby Fredericksburg, has given me permission to include his recollection of wartime Indiantown Gap in this series of historical articles. He wrote, “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 through town, and we would sit on the curb and watch the trucks go by. At the same time, 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 time a convoy would pass through.” Mr. Strouphar’s recollection continued, “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 of those if not all who had rented rooms in town were killed.” It's a little known fact, but during World War II, Indiantown Gap also served as a Prisoner-of-War Camp for German and Italian soldiers and a few Japanese soldiers, too. The prisoner of war camp was active from June 1944 until the spring of 1946. Over 1,200 German and Italian prisoners were interned at the Gap. In August 1998, through a friend of mine, I got in touch with Mr. Robert Hippensteel who lived near Jonestown. At that time, he was 92 years old and a veteran of World War I. He worked at the Gap as a civilian from 1939 until his retirement in 1963. General Martin, by then Governor of Pennsylvania, put Mr. Hippensteel in charge of the prisoner compound (located in Area 17) and work details of 10 to 12 prisoners were dispatched each day, guarded by eight or nine soldiers, to work on the victory farm or cutting wood. Mr. Hippensteel told me a story about one of the German prisoners who could, he said, "speak English better that I could". This German kept bragging that, before his capture, he was used to working with senior officers in "High Places". Mr. Hippensteel finally got fed up with this German prisoner always bragging about working in "High Places", so he put him in a "High Place"....up on top of the mountain cutting wood! By 1945, the Hospital covered forty-five acres and comprised 78 buildings. When first opened the Hospital had 400 beds. This later was increased to the planned capacity of 1,200 beds to care for the sick and wounded soldiers returned to the States. There were thirty-nine 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. The Station Hospital was discontinued effective 30 April 1946. 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. Lebanon Countians were very much aware of these thousands and thousands of soldiers at the Gap during World War II. Many of the soldiers had brought their families along, and, as you might expect, housing became very scarce. Local residents were urged to open their homes to these Army wives who wanted to be with their husbands as much as possible before they embarked for the war zone. There was a generous response. Almost everyone with a spare bedroom took in an Army wife or two. Our local Lebanon County Chapter, American Red Cross - which had also served our boys in the service during World War I - continued to serve our troops in great measure during World War II. With the war declare, people lined up to volunteer as receptionists at the headquarters, to receive phone calls and to help make surgical dressings. The surgical dressings were being made on the 3rd floor office of the Red Cross building until the summer months and the heat arrived. They were then moved to the Domestic Science quarters in Harding Junior High School. Nursing aide courses were instituted as the Good Samaritan Hospital, Lebanon Sanatorium and the Visiting Nurse Association called for nurses. The Lebanon Chapter provided a multitude of full-time services at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation as well as providing a service center here in Lebanon. Grey Ladies in their grey dresses and white caps were allowed to serve the sick and the wounded soldiers in the Station Hospital. There was also a Motor Corps which provided transportation for people who needed it. And the Canteen Corps provided refreshments to the soldiers. The Chapter also recognized other types of services that were needed. Servicemen whose pay was delayed were in need of loans. The need for nurses in the Army and Navy led to the organization o f the Nurse Recruitment Service with Miss Eleanor Groh as chairman and Mrs. John Bashore as vice chairman. Holiday time meant helping the men reach their families with messages and flowers. Christmas at the IGMR hospital meant gifts for every patient and every able bodied man. Gift boxes were assembled and sent to troops and hospital patients in the isolated stations of the world. Raising funds for the War Fund Campaign was a constant efforts. Then came VE Day (May 8, 1945) and a whole new set of problems. War prisoners, when freed, could think only of communicating with their families. By May 12, the Lebanon County Chapter was receiving numerous telegrams and telephone calls and they attempted to guarantee delivery of all messages from men whenever possible. The Blood Donor appeal was very successful. People from industry, factories, churches, lodges and civic organizations aided the effort greatly. The Lebanon County Blood Donor Chapter was closed on May 19, 1945. And, on the lighter side, the Red Cross also chaperoned groups of local young ladies at dances and parties for the soldiers at Indiantown Gap. My research did not determine how many of these young ladies ended up being married to these GI's, but I'll bet it was a considerable number! And in regard to the Lebanon County Red Cross, I might add that the Lebanon Chapter continues to this day to serve soldiers and military families throughout the world as well as Indiantown Gap, including about 177,000 National Guardsmen and women and Reservists who train there each year. -- 30 -- Published in the Lebanon Daily News, Wednesday, 14 July 2004 © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author.   Go "Back at the Gap" Index