Zilda De Carlo was born July 2, 1913 in North Hollywood, California. She was the youngest of four children to Frank and Vincenza (Dinino) De Carlo. Their sons, Ray, Bill, and Nick, also served in the Armed Forces. Zilda enrolled in Parachute Rigger School at Lakehurst in January 1943 after completing WAVES basic training at Hunter College in The Bronx. She was one of the first women to serve in the Navy as a chief parachute rigger.