My husband, Russ, and I travel to a number of book fairs each year to promote Unsung Patriot and his two books. At each event there is always something that stands out in your memory later on. For example, in Pikeville, KY, the AP English class came in to talk with the authors. Many of the students asked to have their brochures autographed. That was a first for me. No one had ever asked for my autograph. I'm certainly NOT a celebrity.

The MOST MEMORABLE fair for me will always be the Fall Festival in Clifton Forge, Virginia. There were many different types of vendors there so at one point I went off to purchase some cushions for my breakfast bar stools. When I returned to our booth, there was a woman waiting for me.

In fact, she had driven over forty miles JUST TO SEE ME! I was floored. No one had ever done that before nor is it likely that anyone will do that again. She had read that I was going to be in Clifton Forge that day, and she wanted to show me a 1918 edition of The Stars and Stripes that her father had brought home from France.

He had been severely wounded during World War I. When he was brought to the hospital, his wounds were so severe that the triage personnel set him aside, thinking that he'd die soon. That way, the surgeons wouldn't waste their time on an impossible case.

Welll, this man survived into the next day, buried under soldiers who had died. He was discovered by the burial detail and only then was he treated. He spent months in the hospital without a way of getting in touch with his family which, by this time, had been notified of his death. What a shock it was when he did return home!

His daughter and I spoke for at least an hour while she shared her father's story. The newspaper she brought was in fragile condition yet she was hoping to be able to pass it down to her own daughter. I was able to suggest some ideas she could try to preserve the paper -- things I had done to conserve family heirloom, including many items related to Guy T. Viskniskki, the founder of The Stars and Stripes.

That afternoon will always be a very special memory of me.

Virginia G. Vassallo
www.krazyduck.com
www.unsungpatriot.com