Patriots Point's Vietnam Naval Support Base Camp features many of the various craft used to combat the dangers of patrolling the jungle and rivers throughout the Vietnam War. This true-to-scale exhibit shows the operational and living areas of a U.S. Naval Advanced Tactical Support Base (ATSB) during the Vietnam War. The visitor is taken back to South Vietnam (1965-71) when the US Navy supported ground troops and counterinsurgency operations throughout the vast network of waterways. The primary mission of the "Brown Water Navy" was to block the movement of insurgents and their supplies into South Vietnam. The exhibit features a rare Mark 1 River Patrol Boat (PBR) dedicated to Medal of Honor recipient James Elliot Williams (see Medal of Honor Exhibit for more info).
This exhibit also features a UH-1m Huey gunship dedicated to the "Seawolves" of HAL-3. This elite Navy helicopter squadron help provided close air support for the PBR's )and other Brown Water Navy watercraft). Other helicopters featured in the exhibit include a UH-1H Medevac, UH-34 Seahorse, and AH-1J Sea Cobra.
The Marine AH-1J Sea Cobra helicopter on the berm outside the Vietnam Advance Tactical Support Base is on loan from the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, VA.
