The father in this family of six can almost be said to be service personified, as harsh circumstances of childhood and youth drove him to enlist in the United States Army at the age of sixteen. Military service became synonymous with survival, and as this service expanded into a career, natural independence, self-education and financial security ensued. During World War II he rose in rank to "full-bird" colonel, and in retirement would often reflect that, had he been more fortunate in youth, with parental support and further education, the West Point Military Academy might have been within his means; he might have advanced as far in rank as general. These reflections confirm that he believed military life to have been his destiny, no matter the early circumstances.

Raymond Henry Myers was born in Xenia, Greene County, Ohio on July 7, 1894. Social Security records give his birthdate as 1892 because he claimed to be older when he enlisted in the army in 1911, hastily acquiring parents' permissions with the signatures of accommodating strangers. His father was Louis Myers and his mother was Ora Hendrickson. Very little is known about this family that is not anecdotal. Attempts to uncover the ancestry and biography of Louis Myers have not been successful. He is said to have been a German immigrant who earned a living as a salesman. Louis and Ora had one other son after Raymond named Leroy, who always preferred to be called Roy. At some point when the boys were still young, Louis abandoned the family, left Xenia and was never seen again. Ora eventually re-married and had several more children. The stepfather's name has not survived anywhere in the family records. Raymond recalled painfully that his mother and stepfather seemed to love and favor Roy, perhaps because he was "cute," whereas it is difficult to imagine from Raymond's earliest photograph, with its somber, mature face, that he had ever been "cute" as a child, and indeed, in later life, that he had ever been a child at all. Even though he himself would have four children and two stepsons, he was never in any way a natural family man, and though dutiful and responsible, he was emotionally austere. Ora died tragically, through either a miscarriage or an attempted abortion, while only in her thirties. It was probably after her death that Raymond had the horrible experience of being hung upside-down over a well by an "insane aunt." It is not surprising that Raymond left school, sought work and eventually ran away from home.

One of Raymond's early jobs must have been in a bakery or restaurant as he developed a lifelong love of baking and cooking. In later years he would recall that he had often considered restaurant ownership for a living. He never gave up his joy in creating dishes and menus. According to his military records, another of his pre-enlistment jobs was as "laborer." He once related a story of working long hours at hard labor in order to be able to afford a warm overcoat - that was soon stolen.