"Back at the Gap" Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) Gap’s status changes with needs of military 24th in a series Effective 23 January 1951, Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, was returned to active status for occupancy by the Fifth Infantry Division (Training). Almost overnight, this resulted a military population of over 17,000 troops, and eventually 32,000 soldiers were trained at the Gap. The training mission of the 5th "Red Diamond" Division ran from March 1, 1951- September 1, 1953. The last 5th Division unit to train at the Post was completed training August 3, 1953. The Post again returned to an inactive status effective September 1, 1953. At that time, the Headquarters, Pennsylvania Military District became the active Army’s representative at the Gap, with the primary mission of administering the Army Reserve and ROTC programs throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Post also continued to serve as the home of several small, specialized Army units, including the important Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment. In September, 1957, military districts were abolished and the XXI US Army Corps was reactivated at Indiantown Gap. Its mission was supervising and administering the Army Reserve Program in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The XXI Corps was inactivated on July 1, 1968, when its mission was transferred to First US Army at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. At that time the US Army Garrison became the Active Army's chief representative at the Gap and was responsible for maintenance of the Post. Since mobilization for the Korean Conflict, regular training for the National Guard continued simultaneously with the regular Army training and the Gap continued to be heavily used as a National Guard training site. For eleven years, beginning in the summer of 1962, the Gap was the host installation for the Nation's largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Advanced Summer Camp. During that period, 42,158 cadets completed six weeks of intense training, and 4,931 were commissioned as Second Lieutenants. However, in 1973 with the nationwide decrease in ROTC enrollment, the Advanced Camp was transferred to active Army installations. In the early 1970’s, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard moved several units into Areas 1 and 2. A new unit, the 201st Civil Engineering Flight (commonly known as the Red Horse Flight) was officially activated in Area 1 on September 14, 1971. Its mission was, and continues to be, to provide heavy construction support for the US Air Force by participating in peacetime projects and exercises and supporting contingency operations in remote and hostile locations while having the ability to conduct self-sustaining operations for short periods of time. The Red Horse has been worth its weight in gold since it has accomplished many important projects not only at the Gap, but throughout the world. During 2003, for example, Red Horse personnel performed construction projects in 52 different countries, including Iraq. In 1972, two other Air Guard units moved into Area 2 from the Harrisburg Airport: the 211th Electronics Installation Squadron and the 271st Combat Communications Squadron. They, too, continue to be of great value to our State in peacetime and during natural emergencies as well as having been deployed for duty in the Gulf war. Training at Indiantown Gap intensified during the Vietnam War. As part of this training, Colonel Bernie Johnson, Garrison Commander, came up with the idea to "provide the most realistic training that can be given," when he had a Vietnam Village constructed by military and civilian labor at a cost of "a few hundred dollars". This unique training facility was a village built in 1968 and doubled in size in 1969. The village was entered through a gate in a fence that encircled the compound. Inside was a typical Vietnamese home, on poles above the ground. Under a mat inside the hut was an escape door which led down through a pile of hay that the Vietnamese used to feed animals in a pen extending under the house. A little farther on there was a well. Filled with water, it appeared to be normal. However, below the water line there was an entrance to a tunnel system. This tunnel system extended to a house built on the ground and made its entrance to a section between the regular wall and a false wall placed inside. Additional tunnels took off to other parts of the village. Another tunnel led outside the fence, one tunnel had an entrance and exit in the base of an idol in the building that served as a temple. Altogether, there were about 1,500 feet of tunnel in the area. One structure consisted of a mud hut. A tower in the center was for observation and for sniper and machine gun emplacements. An addition was the community house. Similar to a dormitory, it would house visitors. The village even had palm trees (actually models made of poles, burlap, wire, grass and sheet metal scraps). Leaving the village, trainees and visitors would walk along a trail where objects were on exhibit showing how the Viet Cong kill and maim. Each object was exhibited to show how it operated; how these simple installations could kill or injure a soldier who was not alert. The entrance to the trail began with a breakaway bridge. A soldier trying to cross a stream the easy way would drop through because his weight would break the span, throwing him onto razor-sharp punji sticks. As the trail continued, it passed by other exhibits, each roped off to avoid injury. Explanations at each exhibit show how the device operates and how the enemy used it. When Indiantown Gap Military Reservation was officially dedicated on March 3, 1941, many wanted to honor General Edward Martin, who by then was the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania as well as the 28th Division Commander, by naming the reservation for him, but he rejected the name change. General Martin had personally selected the name of Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in 1930 because he wanted to preserve the connection of that land with Indiantown Gap in the bordering Blue Mountain, and also because of the Indian villages that once were there. Still, well meaning veteran organizations encouraged the State Legislature to enact the name change, strangely, without the knowledge of any of the officials at the Gap. During 1972, unbeknown to the officials at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, the State Legislature changed the name of the reservation to Edward Martin Military Reservation, in honor of General Martin. The name change legislation was enacted and signed into law by Governor Raymond P. Shafer. Road signs were changed to reflect the official change, but the new name never "caught on" because no one at the Gap was willing to use it. We continued to call it Indiantown Gap Military Reservation - or IGMR - because we were well aware of General Martin's personal wishes. The controversy, if it could be called that, was resolved on May 1, 1975 when the Army changed the names of all posts throughout the United States to include the word "Fort". The Secretary of the Army said the change was being made to add prestige to the post and the soldiers who trained at it. With this announcement, the name of Indiantown Gap was retained as Fort Indiantown Gap. Henceforth, "IGMR" was to be known as "Fort Indiantown Gap". According to an article in the Nov. 19, 1975 Harrisburg Patriot, the State passed a law that recognized "Fort Indiantown Gap" as the official name so that official name continues today. Published in the October 6, 2004 edition of the Lebanon Daily News © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author. Go "Back at the Gap" Index