The 31-foot river patrol boats with a fiberglass hulls were a military mainstay in the U.S. conflict in Vietnam for halting movement of Vietcong troops and supplies.
* They were called PBR or, “patrol boat, river” by the Navy.
* They were jet boats capable of great maneuverability and could operate in shallow water.
* The squadrons attracted more than 4,200 volunteers for the four-person vessels, which were armed with machine guns and sometimes mortars.
* There are estimates that nearly a third of the volunteers were wounded or killed, according to PBR veteran Tom Restemayer of Lynnwood. Restemayer is one of 30 members of Gamewardens NW, the Northwest organization of survivors of the river war.
* The organization refurbished a Mark II version of the PBR as a memorial to those who served on the vessels.
* The refurbished boat, which was made in Bellingham, was used this week in a re-enactment in the Snohomish River sloughs of a battle that will be featured in a series of documentaries on war battles.
* The Discovery Channel documentary series, “Battle Zone,” is expected to start in January. The episode filmed in the Snohomish River sloughs should air in March.
Jason Fritz / The Herald
A production crew works early Thursday on a restored 1970 river patrol boat used in the Vietnam War.
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