Carmine Laveglia was born on June 21, 1908 in Brooklyn, NY, the sixth of 10 children. His father owned a bootblack business; both of his parents had been born in Italy.

Carmine had a job as a shipping clerk at age 16. By 1930, he was working as a clerk in a law office. His father had died in his fifties, but Carmine and his brothers and sisters were supporting the family. Five of the siblings remaining at home were working in factories and one was a news dealer. Youngest sister Pauline, age 13, was still in school.

By 1940, Carmine, still in the same apartment, was recorded as "head of household." The census records show that four of his siblings were still living with him, that he had completed one year of college, and that he was working for the Addressograph Multigraph Company.

He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940 and eventually was called to duty in the Signal Company Special. He served with the unit in Europe during the war, was discharged with the rank of T/4, and returned to Brooklyn.