Raymond Giovannelli grew up in Chicago and the northwest suburb of Niles, Illinois. He served in the US Army's First Infantry Division, aka, The Big Red One.
In 1962 the unit was deployed to Berlin, Germany. The Cuban missile crisis brought the US and Russia to the brink of war at the Berlin Wall before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles from Cuba. Raymond was a police officer in Niles for 35 years. He rose in rank over the years and retired as Chief of Police in 1997. He lives in Texas with his wife Phyllis of 57 years. They have three grown children, eight grandchildren and two great grandsons.
