Unsung Patriot was named Finalist in the Biography category of Reader Views 2007 Annual Literary Awards.      Unsung Patriot:  Guy T. Viskniskki, How The Stars and Stripes Began, is the biography of the first officer-in-charge and first editor-in-chief of The Stars and Stripes, the newspaper of the American Army.  Virginia G. Vassallo uses Guy's unpublished memoirs of his struggle to get the paper going in 1917-1918.  Lack of paper, lack of printing press and lack of men to staff the paper were just a few of the problems to be overcome in the search to provide a newspaper for the American Expedionary Forces during World War I.      Virginia draws on her knowledge of the family to paint a well-rounded picture of this dynamic yet complex man whose legacy is The Stars and Stripes.  For her this book was a search to find the grandfather she never knew.

Review of Unsung Patriot:  How The Stars and Stripe Began by Richard R. Blake, U. S. Navy Veteran, Korean Conflict Every generation has its' heroes.  Many of these receive medals, and ribbons to honor them for their service to our country.  Others receive plaques, trophies and acclaim for personal accomplishments in business, sports, or entertainment.  There is also that myriad of heroes who never receive the accolades.  These are the "unsung" heroes seving behind the lines while others receive the applause. This is the biography of Guy T. Viskniskki, the founder, the first editor-in-chief of "The Stars and Stripes" newspaper, published during the fighting months of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I during 1917 - 1919. At age forty, Guy put a successful career in newspaper editing and publishing on hold and responded to a sense of patriotism by enlisting in armed forces.  He hoped to be placed on the frontline wiht the troops in Europe.  However, he was assigned to General Headquarters guiding newspapermen throughout the American zone in France.  While traveling through France he conceived the idea of a newspaper written "by and for the soldiers" of the A.E. F.  He saw this as a need to raise morale among the troops. By November in 1917 Second Lieutenant Guy T. Viskniskki was press officer and censor at the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).  Already a veteran of the Wheeler Newspaper Syndicate, and former editor of The Bayonet, a camp newspaper of the Eightieth Division, Camp Lee, Virginia, Guy was asked to develop his idea and to explore the feasibility of publishing a newspaper for the AEF. Once it was determined that an AEK newspaper could be produced in France, Viskniskki became the first managing editor of "The Stars and Stripes."  Guy successfully faced the challenges of staffing, paper shortages, and maintaining editorial control with integrity.  "Stars and Stripes" became Guy's legacy.  After the way he again resumed his newspaper career, served as editor of several newspapers, and as a consultant in the publishing field. Proud of her heritage and of her Grandfather's accomplishments Virginia Vassallo produced this book as a tribute to honor his memory.  What started as a few notes and memories to preserve some family history for her grandson became a monumental project.  Her fascination for one more bit of information drove her into writing this thoroughly researched and well documented monument to this "Unsung Patriot: Guy T. Viskniskki." Virginia used her grandfather's unpublished memoirs, various internet sources, interviews with family members, and numberless newspaper articles, and correspondence to research the background information for this book.  She contacted Jim Mayo, President of the Stars and Stripes Museum for help.  Jim was eager to assist her in this project and provided additional valuable resource information. Guy T. Viskniskki will long be remembered for his patriotism, integrity and perserverance for the things he valued.  The book will provide inspiration to small town newspaper editors and the editor-in-chiefs of newspapers across the world.  Veteran's Associations, Sons of the American Revolution, and members of the American Legion will remember Guy's indefatigable efforts for their causes.  As readers they will applaud this tribute to a tireless mentor and for his advocacy for the peoples of the United States of America. Virginia's respect and admiration for the accomplishments of Guy T. Viskniskki came through beautifully.  She masterfully created well-rounded word pictures of this dynamic, yet complex, man whose legacy is "The Stars and Stripes."  Virginia is very articulate, her words are well chosen.  Her organization is meticulous, and her presentation is convincing.  I say "Bravo!"

Review of Unsung Patriot By Frank Praytor, Pacific Stars & Stripes, "52 - '54 Do you know who originated, fought for, wrote and edited the "Soldiers' Newspaper" of World War I fame? How about an Army second-lieutenat in his 40s with more guts than a slaughter house, patience matching Job's and perserverance exceeding that of WD-40 inventors? And how about a tongue-boggling Polish name like Viskniskki?  That's Visk-nisk-ki. I didn't know beans about the WWI origins of Stripes until I read a book, Unsung Patriot, sent to me by Sue Mayo, archivist, librarian and wife of Jim, the primary founder of the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library in Bloomfield, MO.  It was written by a talented writer and lawyer, Virginia G. Vassallo, granddaughter of the WWI Stripes founder, Guy T. Viskniskki (1876 - 1949).  She delves into the life of Viskniskki, whom she never met, with an abundance of detail, but with a style that makes it a page-tuner for anyone interested in Stripes history.  She draws her story from myriad official documents, writings and letter exchanges her grandfather left in his wake. At 13, Guy Viskniskki was a printer's devil, at 16 a reporter responsible for writing and putting together a weekly newspaper for its sight-deficient publlisher who happened to be one of the "Bloomfield Ten" originators of the first Stars and Stripes in Missouri.  He followed his father, a Civil War veteran, into the Army in early 1898 (Spanish-American War); rose to corporal, then sergeant; got on friendship terms with Col. Teddy Roosevelt and was a civilian again two days before Christmas that same year. As a youth in Carmi, IL, Guy Viskniskki was in conversational range of not only his employer, but also of another "Bloomfield Ten" member, John Schell.  His uncle had been a member of the military force occupying Bloomfield at the time the orginal Stars and Stripes was published. When the U.S. was drawn into WWI, Viskniskki, out of a sense of patriotism, volunteered for front-line duty.  He was a junior-grade commissioned officer by then.  Rather than heading for the trenches, he was assigned to the censor section where, in his own words, he played "nursemaid" to civilian correspondents covering the war.  Ms. Vassallo published  her grandfather's memos pointing out that morale was deteriorating rapidly among American forces.  He proposed a newspaper for the troops containing news, features and comics, devoid of overt propaganda, as a medium for improving attitudes.  He even worked out financing entailing paid advertising and a charge for every copy sold.  Profits, if any, were to be redistributed back to troop units.  He exploited an indirect line to the ear of General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, through a major on staff.  Pershing reviewed Viskniskki's thought-out , well-articulate proposal and authorized implementation. The agonizing task began.  Ms. Vassallo takes the reader through all the difficulties, mechanical and human, Viskniskki encountered getting his paper up and running, then had to fend off those who sought control of it.  For latter-day alumni, much of the story has a distincly familiar ring in the context of people trying to influence, squelch and censor the paper's mission of delivering news and unslanted information to American forces overseas. She leaves to her readers the really big question to answer:  Was the title given it by Guy Viskniskki inspired by the accounts he heard from the mouths of the "Bloomfield Ten," several of whom lived in his hometown of Carmi and nearby Fairfield, I, and one for whom he worked?  She points to the "many threads connecting Guy to that first Stars and Stripes published in Bloomfield, Missouri, during the Civil War."  She doesn't discount the possiblity that the idea for the title did spring from his memory and he avoided referring to the Bloomfield paper because he enjoyed the impression that he originated the title himself.  None of Viskniskki's memoirs, and there are many, ever referred to the first Stars and Stripes, or acknowledged its existence.  But he obviously heard about it.  He did note, sardonically, that Pershing publicly took personal credit for the creation of his creation.  Try convincing Jim Mayo that the kid never heard the S&S title mentioned while he was growing up and working within earshot of those Bloomfield veterans. Unsung Patriot is one excellent read.  Until you read it, you don't really know the story of how the newspaper was reborn in WWI, or about the man who started it and made it work. Stripes has published continuously since 1942, when it again was brought back to serve American forces in World War II.  It is confined to offshore distribution by, some say, political influence and pressure from national newspaper publishing interests that don't want the Soldiers' Newspaper competing with theirs at the local PX.