NEWS
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Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Robinson
Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Currie, Staff
Sgt. Harvey Jones and Sgt. Matthew
Bissell wait in the high grass near
Everett as they prepare to film an
episode of the Vietnam War
Experience series.
Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Robinson
One of the only surviving River
Patrol Boats from the Vietnam
War is taken out on the rivers
around Everett during filming of
the Discovery Channel’s
portrayal of the role of patrol
boats during the Vietnam War.
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Vietnam documentary features local vets
By Sgt. 1st Class
Patrick McDonald, 448th Civil Affairs Battalion
Published: May 10th, 2007 01:27 PM
For some, the Brown
Water Navy was a way of life during the Vietnam War; for
others, their first introduction to it was the movie,
“Apocalypse Now.” Forty years later the members of the River
Division 593 are getting their just recognition thanks to
the Discovery Channel and a group of recently returned, Fort
Lewis-based, Iraq War vets.
Anyone who has seen “Apocalypse Now” will remember the
U.S. Navy river boats that plied the waters of the South
Vietnam as part of Task Force 116’s Operation Game Warden.
For those who served on these boats, the movie was a
double-edged sword.
“It was pure BS,” noted retired Senior Chief and boat
captain Heinz Hickethier, current president of the local
“Game wardens” Chapter. “The only good that comes out of the
motion picture fantasy is the fact that it shed light on a
little-known piece of Vietnam War history, the patrol boats.
A few months ago the Discovery Channel and Military
Channel were preparing a documentary on the exploits of the
Brownwater Navy. They contacted the Swift Boat Association
looking for an operational Swift Boat. The only operational
boat they knew of was a “Patrol Boat – River” located near
Everett, Wash. That PBR is one of the only intact and
operational PBRs known in existence. Made of fiberglass, the
small riverboat depicted in “Apocalypse Now” was used by the
production crew. The documentary producer also asked for
assistance from Everett Naval Base and Fort Lewis for
active-duty personnel to play members of the crew.
Unfortunately, regulations did not allow for that so the
Game wardens local chapter vice-president, Bob Brower
contacted his neighbor, Lt. Col. Steven Ford, commander of
the Army Reserve’s 448th Civil Affairs Battalion, for some
assistance. Six recently returned Iraq war vets from the
448th answered the call and played roles in the documentary.
Members of the Game wardens Northwest Chapter visited the
448th during their regular battle training assembly on April
15, to personally thank those who helped with the filming.
They brought photographs of their time plying the waters of
South Vietnam and a small-scale version of their patrol
boat. Soldiers of the 448th were able to watch the
documentary supplied by the visiting Brownwater Navy members
and watched their own play roles sometimes to loud applause
and other times to respectful silence.
“Being part of the filming was a great experience,” noted
Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Robinson of the 448th who played a Navy
boat captain. “Having been to Iraq and experienced combat —
everything seemed to be the same. We prepared the same way
and made decisions the same way. We were just playing
different people in a different war.”
For Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Currie, it was an experience that
made him more aware of the contributions the Navy made to
the overall Vietnam War experience.
“Before this I did not realize the part played by the
Navy during Vietnam. I think this documentary will go a long
ways to commemorate that role as well as the individuals who
were part of it,” he said.
“With us they did not have to teach us how to handle
weapons or react to enemy fire,” Sgt. 1st Class Chris Dorsey
said. “It just would not have been realistic with untrained
civilians. I was honored to be part of this.”
The appreciation was shared by members of the Game
wardens Northwest Chapter.
Gunner’s Mate Tom Restemayer noted “the 448th saved our
bacon in coming through when they did. Without them we would
not have been able to do this as realistic as was portrayed
by these Iraq war vets.
“They understood what was like, and you saw that in their
faces while they played their roles,” he said. “They
actually know what combat is.”
During the Vietnam War, Navy PBR patrols consisted of two
boats; each boat had a crew of four: a boat captain (E-6),
gunners mate (E-4 or 5), engineman (E-4 or 5), and a seaman.
Each two-boat patrol had a patrol officer who was a chief
petty officer or a junior commissioned officer The chief job
was offensive operations against the Viet Cong and North
Vietnamese Army: setting up night ambushes at suspected
enemy crossing points, supporting the SEAL’s with gunfire
and transportation, and enforcing curfew restrictions in
their sector, usually no more then 35 nautical miles from
the base.
Game Warden sailors boarded more than 40,000 vessels,
inspecting them for enemy personnel and contraband. In the
process, the River Patrol Force destroyed, damaged, or
captured 2,000 Viet Cong craft and killed, wounded, or
captured more than 1,400 of the enemy.
The U.S. Navy PBR patrols suffered the loss of 143
officers and men killed, and 8 missing in battle. More than
1,500 Purple Hearts were awarded to members of the Brown
Water Navy.
