TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Clayton A. Pitre, Sr. 1924–2020 Administrator, Community Leader, U.S. Marine Corps C layton A. Pitre, Sr. (Gamma Eta 1949) who was a long- time Seattle, WA resident, entered the Chapter Invis-
Clayton A. Pitre was born on June 30, 1924, in Opelousas, LA. Pitre attended Catholic schools before leaving school in the ninth grade to work in defense plants early in World War II. At nine- teen, Pitre joined the USMC after be- ing drafted. In 1943, USMC sent him to Jacksonville, NC, for basic training at Camp Montford Point, then deployed Pitre to Saipan, located in the North Mariana Islands. In 1945, U.S. military forces deployed Pitre’s unit to Okinawa, Japan, as a decoy for the other forces that invaded the island's south end. His unit delivered ammunition to the 82- day siege of Okinawa's frontlines, the last major battle in the Pacific. After World War II, USMC dispatched Pitre to China to oversee the evacuation of the Japanese Army. After his honor- ably discharged in February 1948, Pitre followed one of his brothers and moved to the Pacific Northwest, settling in Seattle where he worked Fort Lawton. He enrolled at Seattle’s Broadway Edi- son Technical School in a program spe- cifically for military veterans who had not earned a high school diploma. With support from the G.I. Bill, he passed his vocational tests. He later enrolled at Seattle University and graduated in 1968 with a degree in accounting. Pitre worked U.S. Postal Service and sold real estate. He later became the Director of Hous- ing Development for the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) which worked with non-profits to fund and build low-income housing in Seattle. Pitre joined the Veterans Administration (VA) worked there until his retirement in 1984. A member of the Seattle (WA) Alumni Chapter, Pitre worked with the chapter on a program entitled African American Dollars for Scholars Foundation. He
ible on December 31, 2020, at the age of 96. Pitre was a community leader, husband, father, grandfather, VA admin- istrator, a Congressional Gold Medal re- cipient, and a Montford Point Marine. Pitre was a trailblazer in U.S. military history as he was one of the 20,000 African-American Marines who trained at Camp Montford Point between 1942 and 1949. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, “Clayton Pitre represents a chapter of World War II history that most people have never heard. The vast majority of the war’s histories do not mention the Montford Point Marines or their contributions to the conflict. In an era of racism, these brave men fought in some of the most vicious battles of the war’s Pacific theater.” The United States Marine Corps (USMC) was the last branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to integrate. Mont- ford Point was the training ground for the nation’s first Black Marines who served in World War II and the Korean War despite experiencing racism and discrimination while training. Michael Johnson, western region vice president of the Montford Point Marine Association Inc., on Pitre, “Mr. Pitre was quite a trailblazer. There were no African Americans in the Marine Corps until 1942, so that was the Marine Corps experiment to see if African Americans would be able to serve in the capacity of the Marines, the same as Tuskegee Airmen did during World War II.”
was a member of St. Mary’s Church, the Knights of Peter Claver, the Knights of Columbus, The Breakfast Group, the Montford Point Marines, the Marine Corps Support Group, and the Seattle University Alumni Associa- tion. He also served on the Central Area Senior Center board and as a member of a special Commission on Senior Services for the City of Seattle. In June 2012, Pitre and other surviving Montford Point Marines received the nation’s highest honor, the Congres- sional Gold Medal, for their service during World War II. The Fall 2016 issue of the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal featured an article on Pitre on his visit to the NFL Seattle Seahawks fran- chises. The NFL team invited Pitre to raise its 12th Man flag at a Seahawks home game against the Arizona Car- dinals as part of the team’s “Salute to Service” program. Brother Clayton A. Pitre, Sr. is pre- deceased by his wife of 62 years, the former Gloria Toney. He is survived by three sons; Clayton (Felicia) Jr. (Gamma Eta 1979), Michael (Erika), and Paul (Charisse) (Kappa Pi 1982); grandchildren Michaelia, Aaron, Daniel, Cameron, Clayton Brycen, Gabrielle, and Chase; great grandchil- dren Nathaniel and Theodore; brother Edgar and a host of relatives and close friends.
The fourth of one daughter and six sons to Gilbert Pitre and Eugenie Lemelle,
66 | WINTER 2020-SPRING 2021 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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