Tony Malfeo was born in Italy on December 21, 1920, and immigrated to the United States as a child. His family settled in Staples, Minnesota. He attended St. John's University in New York City from 1939 to 1941, and then Moorhead State Teacher's College in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 1941 to 1943. During this time he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on July 16, 1942, and went on active duty to attend the Navy College Training Program, V-7, in July 1943. Malfeo was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy at the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, on March 17, 1944, and then completed Navy Combat Demolition Unit training at Fort Pierce, Florida. Ensign Malfeo next served at the Naval Combat Demolition Training and Experimental Base at Kihei on Maui, Hawaii, before serving with UDT-9 aboard the high speed transport USS Belknap (APD-34) from September 1944 until he was killed in action when a Japanese kamikaze crashed into the ship at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines on January 12, 1945. Tony Malfeo was buried at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines, and he also has a cenotaph at Evergreen Hill Cemetery in Staples, Minnesota.

The Sailor's Creed:

I am a United States Sailor.

I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me.

I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world.

I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment.

I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.