Pitt, Wayne

Wayne Pitt was born November 7, 1947 in London, Ontario. His parents had immigrated to Canada from Ireland and England; his father was an armourer/gunsmith in the Canadian Army in World War Two, and while overseas he met the woman who would become his war bride.  They returned to Canada to start their family, with Wayne coming along in 1947.  He grew up in 1950s-60s London, and Wayne recalls a small city where school wasn’t for him.  He left after Grade 10, and worked a series of jobs, and after a raucous Rolling Stones concert in his hometown, Wayne headed to England to visit family. Back in London, he learned a coworker was headed to Cleveland to join the Marines; a few beers later, Wayne decided to go too.  It took a while to complete the process and paperwork, but soon enough Wayne was on his way to boot camp in Parris Island. Basic training took place there as well as Camps Geiger and Pendleton, and then in December 1968 it was time to fly to Vietnam. He arrived in Danang and was initially deployed to Quang Tri, part of the Second Battalion, 4th Marines (Hotel Company) – “Hotel 24” in the 3rd Marine Division, where he was a machine gunner. And that is where his day-to-day war began, punctuated by jungle patrols, heat and humidity, rats and leeches, and jungle rot – not to mention the terrifying ordeal of combat in places like Firebase Neville. Wayne received three purple hearts during his time in Vietnam.  Eventually his short-timer reached its endpoint, and he was on his way home – to an ungrateful America where he did not experience a positive reception.  He made his way back to Canada and his family, where he readjusted to civilian life.  Along the way he married several times and raised his family, operating a number of successful businesses along the way. Wayne Pitt was interviewed by Scott Masters and Global Veterans’ Stories’ Zach Dunn at his home in London, Ontario in May 2026.