Victor "Houston" Dunnam was born in McLain, Mississippi on November 21, 1913 to Ida Ruth Breland.
Victor was enrolled in grammar school for the majority of his childhood, however, at age 17, he was a boarder and laborer at the home of Charles O Backstrom in Washington, Mississippi. At 26, Victor was employed with the Mississippi State Highway Department before registering for the selective service on October 16, 1940. Dunnam was drafted less than a year later at 27 years old and sent overseas to Normandy during World War II.