Santino Lettieri was born in Calabria, Italy in the middle of World War 2. Like many Italians of this time period, his family sought a better life in North America after the conclusion of the war, settling in Chicago. In the early 1960s, Santino and a group of high school friends enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and Santino served in 1965 and 1966 in the Vietnam War. In 2014, he shared his experiences of training, combat and readjustment to civilian life with his niece, Grade 10 student Loren Lettieri.