A lifelong Niles resident and U.S. Army veteran who served in two tours of duty in Afghanistan received a “Key to the City” from village trustees as a token of their gratitude for his service at a Nov. 17 board meeting.
Nicholas Giovannelli, a Maine South High School and University of Iowa graduate, said he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2007 and was deployed to Zabul Province in Afghanistan as a member of the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment from 2009 through 2010, and again to a combat outpost in Logar Province with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
Trustee George Alpogianis, while reading the proclamation officially awarding the Army veteran his “Key to the City,” broke from his script to share his own story of gratitude for Giovannelli’s service.
Alpogianis, a friend of Giovannelli and his family, said the Army veteran was stationed on the 38th parallel in South Korea with the 2nd Infantry Division, the same division his father had served in during the Korean War. When Giovannelli returned to Niles, Alpogianis said he gave him a camouflage patch from the 2nd Infantry to give to his father.
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“It brought a tear to my father’s eye,” Alpogianis said.
Giovannelli’s said the honor bestowed by the Village Board meant a lot to him because of his attachment to his hometown.
“Niles is the best community I’ve been in, and I’ve been around the world,” he said. Giovannelli, who is also friends with Trustee Dean Strzelecki and Mayor Andrew Przybylo, praised the quality of leadership in the village and the services provided to residents.
The Army veteran said he has no plans to leave Niles.
The board also bestowed a “Key to the City” to Marine Corps veteran Edward Zawilla, son of Niles police officer Marijo Zawilla, at their meeting in October. He served as an intelligence analyst stateside, and as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, Zawilla supported operations in Libya, Djibouti, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq.
At the meeting, Alpogianis praised the “selfless acts” of all members of the military.
“We owe everyone that serves in our armed forces, whether abroad or here, a big debt of gratitude,” he said.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.