Burial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery: A family guide

History of Indiantown Gap National Cemetery

Indiantown Gap derives its name from the various Native American communities that resided in this region of Pennsylvania. The first inhabitants were Susquehannocks, an Iroquois tribe first encountered by Europeans in the 17th century. In the mid-1700s, Scotch-Irish, English and German pioneers settled the region and managed to live peacefully with the neighboring Lenape Indians. During the French and Indian War, however, tribes who were allied with French colonists raided many English frontier settlements. As Indiantown Gap increasingly became the site of frequent battles, pioneers built a number of defensive structures, including Swatara Fort, Harpers Fort and Reeds Fort.

In the 1930s, when the Pennsylvania National Guard needed a larger area for training maneuvers and firing ranges, the government authorized the acquisition of 12,047 acres in Dauphin and Lebanon counties. The 55th Infantry Brigade was the first unit to use Fort Indiantown Gap when it held its annual maneuvers at the reservation in summer 1932. The following year, the 53rd Field Artillery first trained at Indiantown Gap, and in 1934, the 28th Infantry Division and 52nd Cavalry Brigade were assembled there. Over 100 buildings from nearby Mount Gretna — including officers' mess halls, administration buildings, latrines and bathhouses — were dismantled and hauled by truck to the present location at Indiantown Gap.

After World War II, Indiantown Gap became a separation center for officers and enlisted men returning from overseas, and eventually home to the 32,000 troops of the 5th Infantry Division and a training center during the Korean War. From 1962 to 1973, Indiantown Gap was the host installation for the largest Reserve Officers Training Corps advanced summer camp nationwide. During this 11-year period, 41,158 cadets completed training. In 1975, Fort Indiantown Gap became a camp for Southeast Asian refugees. For eight months, more than 22,000 Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees were resettled through this facility.

In 1976, a section of Fort Indiantown Gap was selected as the national cemetery for the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania donated Land for the 677-acre site to the Veterans Administration.

Notable veterans buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery

The National Cemetery Administration documents the following veterans of note buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, listed by section and site as recorded in the cemetery's official register.

• Born in Pine Grove, PA, Russell William Brown (1922–2018) attended school and listed "acting" as his career field when registering for the draft during World War II. Staff Sergeant Brown served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 as a paratrooper with the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, F Company, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart. His four combat jumps — over Salerno and Sicily (Italy), Normandy (France), and Njimegen (Holland) — and that experience is included in Four Stars of Valor and All American, All the Way, books that chronicle the 505th PIR and 82nd Airborne Division. As a civilian Brown worked for E.I. DuPont. Around 1955 he married and the family lived in Georgetown, KY. He died there on August 31, at age 96, and is buried in Section 3, Site 779.
• Born in South Carolina, Robert (Bob) Montgomery (1919–1998) was one of nine children and his father was a sharecropper. During the Great Depression years, Montgomery moved to North Philadelphia where he learned to box and joined "The Slaughterhouse" gym. He turned professional in 1938 and won the Lightweight Championship title in Madison Square Garden in 1943. Montgomery was drafted in World War II and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, 1944–1945. Corporal Montgomery was discharged at Luke Air Field in Arizona. He returned to Philadelphia and reclaimed his championship title in 1947. Montgomery retired in 1950 but he continued to promote the sport and opportunities for black Americans. Montgomery was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. He died August 25 at age 79, and is buried in Section 13, Site 867.
• Pennsylvanian Walter B. Pleate (1876–1985) was the oldest U.S. veteran when he died at the VA Medical Center in Lebanon. Born to German immigrants living in Bridesburg (now part of Philadelphia), in 1899 he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Private Pleate's enlistment record notes service as a musician in Company I, 2nd U.S. Infantry, and his discharge in Laguimanos, Philippine Islands. His tour of duty included the Philippines and fighting in the Boxer Rebellion (1900). Pleate returned to Philadelphia after his military service ended in February 1902, and by 1910 he was a helper in the Philadelphia Almshouse and Hospital. In the 1930s Pleate sought veterans' compensation for his Spanish-American War service, and he entered the VA hospital network by 1940. At the time of his death at 109 on December 5, he had no known survivors. Musician Pleate is buried in Section 11, Site 138.
• John J. Shumaker (1929–1999) was born in Harrisburg, PA. He served as a commander in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Shumaker lived in central Pennsylvania for most of his life and worked as an attorney and businessman. He helped bring the Penn National Racetrack to Grantsville in 1968 and worked as its president and general manager until 1983. That year, he filled a vacant senate seat for Pennsylvania's Fifteenth District and served in that capacity until resigning for health reasons in 1995. He advocated for veterans and formed the state's first veterans advisory board. The Harrisburg Area Community College named a safety center on its campus after him in 1988. Shumaker died on October 13, 1999, and is buried in Section 20, Site 192.
• Paul Vathis (1925–2002) was born in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe), PA. He enlisted in the Marine Corps during WWII as a high school senior and trained in photography. He flew combat missions with the 1st Marine Air Wing in the South Pacific photographing bomb damage. He began a fifty-six-year career as an Associated Press photographer in 1946, most of it with the Harrisburg bureau. His proximity to President Eisenhower's Gettysburg residence made him a regular in the press pool there. This familiarity helped give him access to photograph a Camp David meeting between Eisenhower and new President John Kennedy after the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion. "Serious Steps," a photograph taken in this session won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize. He died December 10 at age 77, and is buried in Section 25, Site 504.

Eligibility for burial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery

Planning ahead for a Veteran's or loved-one's final resting place can eliminate unnecessary delays and reduce stress on a family at a difficult time.

The Department of Veterans Affairs covers the grave plot, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a government-furnished headstone or marker, and a U.S. burial flag at no cost to eligible families.

Visiting hours

Visitation Hours: Open daily from dawn to dusk. Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day. VA will continue its practice of honoring special requests for weekend burials for religious purposes, in cases of service members killed in action and on at least one day of any three-day Federal holiday weekend at all open VA national cemeteries.

How to schedule a burial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery

1. The funeral home or family contacts the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117 (24/7 for active funeral arrangements).
2. Provide the veteran's full name, date of birth, social security number, dates of service, branch, and date of death.
3. Fax or email the DD-214 to the cemetery's interment office for verification.
4. Once eligibility is confirmed (typically 30–60 minutes for complete documentation), the cemetery assigns a date, time, and committal shelter.
5. The funeral home transports the deceased to Indiantown Gap National Cemetery at the assigned time. The cemetery handles opening, closing, and perpetual care from that point.

Where Indiantown Gap National Cemetery sits in the Pennsylvania cemetery system

Indiantown Gap National Cemetery is one of the veteran cemeteries operating in Pennsylvania. The cemetery is currently accepting new in-ground and columbarium interments. Families should verify status before planning.

For families considering alternatives, the nearest veteran cemeteries appear in our cemetery sidebar. If Indiantown Gap National Cemetery is fully reserved, those alternatives are typically the next options.