Visko, George W. (32298547)

George W. Visko
Sgt. George Visko interrogates a German POW in Dragoni, Italy, in the fall of 1943.
Personal details
Born	1907
Died	27 March 1944
Nativity	United States
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32298547
Rank	Corporal
Camp Ritchie	Class 4 (6 January – 6 March 1943)
Section	5
Enlisted	Ft Jay Governors Island, New York
Teams	IPW 15, IPW 17

Teammates

Team — IPW 15

Team — IPW 17

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

George W. Visko (1907 – 27 March 1944) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 4 and served with IPW Team 15;17.

Biography

Visko is on the far left. In the article, Chris Galen describes how RB Visko was killed in action in Anzio, Italy, on March 27, 1944, and how Chris' father was unable to locate any family members of RB Visko after the war. Visko has rested for seven decades beneath a white cross in the U.S. military cemetery along the Italian coastline where he died.

For Visko, then, perhaps the only tribute can be seen in the faces of those whose lives and livelihoods were made possible by his short time on Earth. George Visko of New York City. Visko was a restaurant maître d' at Manhattan’s famous Stork Club before serving in the Army.

Visko saved the life of three other GIs in Palermo just a week later, when he talked a truckload of German soldiers into surrendering. Visko also distinguished himself as a front-line chef. Visko’s luck turned from good to bad six months after the Sicilian campaign when he was at the Anzio beachhead south of Rome.

Visko’s friends, including Lt. Bill Galen, knew only a little about Visko's stateside ties in Manhattan. Visko had not spoken of siblings or parents, just a wife and daughter.

But when Galen’s brother back in Illinois reached out to her, he was informed that Visko’s “wife” was married -- but not to Visko -- and the little girl was not Visko's daughter. One of the Ritchie Boys who was killed in action during WWII was Sgt. On June 16, 2022, Christopher Galen, son of Ritchie Boy Lt.

Bill Galen, visited the site of Camp Ritchie. He shared with Landon Grove, the Ritchie Museum's Director, many stories about his dad's service as a Ritchie Boy and the amazing story attached to this photograph. The photo was taken in July 1943 in Sicily.

Research notes

• 8/5/1907-?

Gallery

• 
  In the photo are three GI's and a number of captured German soldiers.
• 
  Sgt. George Visko interrogates a German POW in Dragoni, Italy, in the fall of 1943.
• 
• 
  Visko's gravesite in the Sicily–Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Italy.

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	32298547
Nara Name	VISKO GEORGE W
Nara State	23
Nara County	61
Nara POE	2327
Nara DOE	70442
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	23
Nativity.1	NEW YORK
Nara Year of Birth	7
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	4
Nara Civilian Occupation	107
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	67
Nara Weight (lbs)	150
Class_ASN	32298547
Class_Name	Visko, George W.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both
Census_HISTID	0E325503-AE76-40A3-941F-3E1EF54A7D4E
Census_State	NEW YORK
Census_Relate	Other non-relatives
Census_Sex	Male
Census_Age	33
Census_BirthYear	1907
Census_Marital	Never married/single
Census_Race	White
Census_BPL	NEW YORK
Census_MBPL	0
Census_FBPL	0
Census_Educ	Grade 9
Census_OCC	780

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-08-29 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2026-06-24 (1 post)