To: STATE EDITORS

Contact: Kevin Cramsey of Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, +1-717-861-8352; or Kirk Wilson of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, +1-717-783-9882

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TheDepartment of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission today commemorated the rich history of a site where Army soldiers were trained more than 60 years ago to load and unload ships and cargo vessels to aid the Allied effort in World War II.

The two agencies dedicated a historical marker at the former "stevedore" training site, which is located at the eastern end of the Fort Indiantown Gap post in Lebanon County.

The Fort Indiantown Gap Training Site is headquarters for the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, the adjutant general of Pennsylvania, participated in the ceremony, along with Lt. Col. Grey D. Berrier II, commander of the training site; and Karen Galle, coordinator of the commission's historical marker program.

"We would have been unable to fight and win a battle in World War II without the efforts of the soldiers in these port battalions," said Berrier. "The Navy moved the ships, but the Army loaded and unloaded them."

Berrier added that the 10,000 soldiers who received stevedore training at the Gap between 1942 and 1945 lived up to their motto of "nothing can happen until something is moved."

Assigned to 11 port battalions, a majority of the 10,000 soldiers who received stevedore training were African Americans. They were trained to load and unload cargo, vehicles, equipment and troops in off-shore and on-shore locations under war conditions.

Three specially built "landships" were constructed to simulate actual conditions. The simulated ships were named after the three gaps in nearby Blue Mountain and were called the "SS Indiantown," the "SS Manada," and the "SS Swatara."

Upon completion of their training at Fort Indiantown Gap, the port battalions deployed to Europe, where they supported the Allied invasions of Italy and Normandy. The soldiers endured continuous attacks from enemy aircraft while performing their duties, yet managed to set records for unloading operations based on tonnage and speed.

The Stevedore Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap historical marker is one of 43 markers approved by the commonwealth in 2008.

Since the marker program began in 1946, more than 2,000 of the blue aluminum markers with gold lettering have been placed in order to inform citizens about the people, places and events that have helped to shape Pennsylvania since the commonwealth was founded by William Penn.

CONTACT: Kevin Cramsey, DMVA

(717) 861-8352

Kirk Wilson, PHMC

(717) 783-9882

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

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