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.
On display is an original River Patrol Boat, which was used to stop and search boat traffic in areas such as the
Mekong Delta, the Rung Sat Special Zone, the Saigon River
and in I Corps, in the area assigned to Task Force Clearwater, in an attempt to intercept weapons shipments.
The extraordinary aircraft collection includes two Army Huey helicopters that were used in Vietnam following initial fielding in September 1962. The Huey saw service with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 57th Medical Detachment. The Huey became the basis for the creation of the 1st Aviation Brigade in 1966.
The display also is home to a Sea Cobra attack helicopter and many of the actual weaponry that was used during the Vietnam War.
The Seawolves and the Brown Water Navy
During the Vietnam War, controlling the vast deltas was critical and that meant controlling the rivers. That was the mission of the courageous Americans who formed the so-called Brown Water Navy. Their story is told at the Patriots Point Naval Support Base where a river patrol boat is joined by UH-1 Huey Helicopters.
Also on display is an impressive collection of artifacts from American forces as well as South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese forces.
With the official Navy designation PBR, the river patrol boat crews were in constant danger of ambush and attack on the Vietnamese delta. PBR's took on the dangerous task of stopping and searching boat traffic in the Mekong Delta, the Saigon River and many other enemy positions on or near the water. Often times PBR crews were involved in some of the war's most vicious firefights.
With UH-1 Huey helicopters anchoring the exhibit, the extraordinary story of the Seawolves, the elite HAL-3 helicopter squadron, comes to life. Racing at tree top level, these helo gunships working in tandem with PBR's and other Navy craft. Critical members of the Brown Water Navy, Seawolves scrambled to provide close air support and answer distress calls from their brothers in arms.
Also on display in an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. The heavily armed Cobra went into service in 1967 and became one of the most feared weapons of the war.
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The USS Yorktown participated in the recovery of NASA's Apollo 8 crew in 1968.
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