Theodore James Viskoe
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
VISKOE, Theodore James
Theodore James Viskoe was born on November 25th 1927, the son of Joseph & Mary Viskoe in Ino, Wisconsin, He graduated from high school in 1945.
Mr. Viskoe served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman during World War II in the European Theater.
Mr. Viskoe received training at Camp Roberts, California, for eight weeks, preparing to be a replacement for troops in Europe. He was sent to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and boarded a ferry that took him to a Liberty ship with 4,000 other service members. Ninety percent of them were seasick as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They landed at Le Havre, France. Once there, they boarded forty-by-eighty boxcars and traveled for five days, sleeping on the floors. They were transported to Bamberg, Germany, and later to Linz, Austria.
In April 1946, he was attached to the 42nd (“Rainbow”) Infantry Division. The service members painted rainbows on the local house and barns. Two months later, his unit went 20 miles northwest of Linz to Bad Schallerbach, Austria, where Mr. Viskoe became part of the Constabulary Unit. His job was to read maps.
One evening at 8:00pm, he was summoned and told to report to the colonel “right now!” He was told to collect all of his gear and take it with him. His colonel told him he was being assigned to the European Theater Intelligence School (ETIS), a classified school. He was to be trained as a liaison, learning the Russian language and culture. Mr. Viskoe was directed to take a streetcar to Oberammergau, Austria, near Garmisch, where ETIS was located. For five months, he studied at ETIS, from July until October 1946. He graduated and received a diploma.
He was returned to his infantry unit at Bad Schallerbach. He went to Linz and then to Bremerhaven, Germany, where he boarded a ship, the USS General Taylor, which transported him back to the United States.
He was discharged at Camp Kilmer on June 22nd 1947. His rank was T-5, and he initially specialized in cartography. Later, he was trained in espionage relating to the Soviet Union.
TEC5 Viskoe was decorated with the Occupation Medal (Germany) and the World War II Victory Medal. In addition, because his study at ETIS was classified, no mention of it is made on his discharge papers.
Mr. Viskoe died on April 7th 2019.
Source(s): Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form; interview with veteran
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
