OFFICIAL HOME OF TASK FORCE 116

The oldest, continuously operating Vietnam Veterans Group in the United States !
Dedicated to all who were in, or in support of Task Force 116(Operation Gamewarden),
and ALL Brown Water Sailors.
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UNIQUE PRODUCTS ! !
  THE CAFE PRESS SHIP'S STORE.
CUSTOM PRODUCTS ! !
  THE ZAZZLE SHIP's STORE
Riverine Warfare
on the Pentagon Channel
 

View this three-part Pentagon Channel video – featuring Gamewardens Larry Weatherall and Wes Weseleskey – as they and the US Navy Riverine Sailors in Iraq discuss the New Brown Water Navy in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
View Video 1 of 3 »
View Video 2 of 3 »
View Video 3 of 3 »
 
 

House Resolution 188
(Feb 25, 2009)
Honoring Seawolves
of HC-1/HAL-3

111TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 188
Honoring the service, courage, and sacrifice of the Seawolves of Helicopter Attack Light Squadron Three.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2009 Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself and Mr. BUYER) submitted the following resolution »

Submitted by Dan Arnes

THE GODBEHERE PATROL
[The Jere Beery Story]

View the Godbehere Patrol videos – a four video series here »
** IN MEMORIAM **
Click for closeup
Captain Burt Witham – the first Commander of Task Force 116 and Operation Game Warden – will be missed.

Click here to view an oral
history interview from 2007.
NEWS
 
Daily News at Dark Blue World »
Eagles Up! »
 
Become A Member
 

Join Gamewardens of Vietnam and
enjoy the benefits of being a member
of the oldest continuously operating
Vietnam Veterans Group in the
United States!
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Your donations are appreciated!

Thanks to your generous donations, we are able to keep the following projects going:

Scholarship Fund

Newsletter Fund

Website Fund

PBR Maintenance Fund

Or you can choose to support all of these programs with a donation to...

General Fund

All donations are made safely and securely through PayPal for your convenience. We also accept the following methods of payment:




Gamewardens of Vietnam Association, Inc. is a tax exempt organization under IRS section 501(a). Donations are tax exempt and a receipt will be issued.

CONTACT INFO
. Heinz Hickethier–President
Gamewardens Association, Inc.
80 E. Campus Dr
Belfair, WA 98528
1 (866) 220-7477
Email: President@tf116.org

Machinery Repairman Petty Officer First Class Paul Kornyei(R) and Gene Glasco(L).
Seal Beach, CA-  Saturday, August 20, 2011
Machinery Repairman Petty Officer First Class Paul Kornyei
of MSRON 11(Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron) was awarded the "Gamewardens Association Vietnam to Present"- Leadership Excellence Award by West Coast Chapter President, Gene Glasco in a ceremony in front of command staff and personnel of MSRON 11.
Click each title below to see additional pictures.
Gene Glasco Presents the award.
Black Beret Presented
MSRON 11(Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron) in formation.



June 24, 2011) Electronics Technician 1st Class Edwin T. Benkin
110624-N-ZZ999-004 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (June 24, 2011)
Electronics Technician 1st Class Edwin T. Benkin,
right, assigned to Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 1, receives the traditional black beret from Retired Capt. Bob Freed from the Mid Atlantic chapter of the Gamewardens. Gamewardens, famous for patrolling rivers in Vietnam, initiate one person from each Riverine squadron annually as honorary Gamewardens. The Riverine Force is a combat-arms force that performs point defense, fire support and interdiction operations along inland waterways to defeat enemies and support coalition forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Scott Solis/Released)

Gamewardens' Authors Corner
We've got some talented folks among us – please take a moment to peruse our library below:

 


Gamewardens of Vietnam History Book, First Edition.

Hardback, an in-depth overview of the history of the Gamewardens, complete with photos. A must-read for Brown-Water sailors!

Available in the Ships Store »

 

America’s True Heroes
By Nicholas Rider In America’s True Heroes (Island Time Publishing, 2006) you will be introduced to Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine veterans who served in peacetime and during conflicts; from WWI to present-day Iraq. You will be inspired by their bravery, commitment to duty, and love for their country. 50+ photos.Read More Here »

Available in the Ships Store: Volume I and Volume II

 

IRON BUTTERFLY
By Ralph Christopher and Jim Davy. The true story of an elite group of men who wrote a page in Naval history. They patrolled the waterways in thirty-one foot river patrol boats powered by Detroit diesel engines with water jet-propulsion. Armed with machineguns and grenade launchers, as well as sheer guts and determination, these sailors faced danger around every bend in the river.

Available in the Ships Store »

 

NILO HA TIEN
Vietnam War In the early months of 1970, LT Thomas Medici, NILO Ha Tien, enters Cambodia on U.S. Naval Intelligence missions and negotiates a secret weapons agreement with the Cambodian Navy, then thwarts the destruction of of the Port of Sihanoukville-- for which he is tried at a Naval Board of Inquiry. "This remarkable novel relates many events that our Naval Intelligence Liaison Officers actually experienced during the Cambodia episode of the Vietnam War...

Available in the Ships Store »
Listen to Author Larry Serra's Interview on the Denny Griffin Show »

 

Firefight on Vietnam Brown Water – by Lynn Salsi
Eighteen year old Al Lupo is suddenly faced with the biggest decision of his life after he is drafted to serve in the United States military in 1965. This novel is a coming-of-age saga of Al dealing with his relationship with his father, dealing with the authority of officers, and learning to survive.

Available in the Ships Store »

 

Al (A.J.) Billings – Seawolf28
An exciting action filled novel of one of the top decorated naval aviators of the Vietnam era brings the reader a dramatic story of a twenty-two year career of a Navy helicopter pilot. By the end of the Vietnam War he was a four tour veteran with well over 600 missions and the recipient of more than thirty-nine citations, including the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross.

Available in the Ships Store »

 

Marie LeDuc and Dr. Art Schmitt – The Man I Didn't Know
The stories of Families of Veterans who are effected with post tramatic stress disorder.

Available in the Ships Store »

NEW! Listen to an interview with author Art Schmitt on the Denny Griffin Radio Show MEET THE AUTHOR.

 


A Quiet Reality


by Emilio Marrero, Jr.
A Quiet Reality is a heartwarming and hopeful story that invites you to join Chaplain Marrero in this exciting journey through Iraq as he ministered to U.S. Marines. Join him through an exhilarating tactical convoy during his first night in Iraq, through the painful ministry to the wounded and dead. Reflect with him as he ponders on this quest as a man in uniform and a pastor. Walk with him through the ancient ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's Palace in Babil and join him on an exciting quest to open biblical history to his Marines while he seeks to care for the Iraqis around him. More »

 


Dr. Lester L. Westling – When Johnny/Joanie Comes Marching Home
Our military families endure the burdens of separation when a significant member is repeatedly, often suddenly, called far away to serve for extended periods of time. Not only handling the separations but also the reunions and restoration of the family circle are the subjects of this book.

Available in the Ships Store »

 


Lester Westling – All That Glitters

Join respected pastor, missionary, and former Navy Chaplain Lester Westling as he chronicles his journey through danger, toil, and triumph and discovers the true meaning of treasure that lasts. His riveting stores will capture your imagination and inspire you to reach for the true gold of life?gold that will glitter forever in Heaven.

Available in the Ships Store »

 


Ralph Christopher – River Rats
River Rats provides a ...lively insight into the hows and whys of the United States involvement in Vietnam, and the attempt of that involvement to bring freedom to those who were unable to achieve it by their own efforts...

Available in the Ships Store »

 

Click to purchase
Ralph Christopher – DUTY HONOR SACRIFICE
From author From the Author: DUTY HONOR SACRIFICE, is 432 pages, 30 chapters with maps and pictures. It is divided up with TF-115, -116, and -117 and 9th Infantry stories all told together. It was another honor to have been trusted by so many to tell portions of their stories.
Available in the Ships Store »

Listen to a radio interview of the author on "Meet The Author" »

 


Ralph Christopher – Riverine Photo Album
The Riverine Photo Album is a tribute to those forces that served in the river coastal war of South Vietnam, which was made up of small units of sailors that manned forward firebases, floating detachments, and rode small fast patrol boats and the larger heavy riverine craft alongside South Vietnamese troops, mercenaries, and regional forces, who were fighting for their independence from communist rule. The River Rats and River Raiders fought for freedom and they fought with honor, but in the end they fought for each other. Praise is hardly enough.

Available in the Ships Store »

 


Bill Ferguson – Laughter on the Rivers of Death: One Sailor's Humorous Experience
Volunteering for anything while serving in the Navy is risky business. Many a naive Sailor found himself suffering from "volunteers remorse" shortly after stepping forward to answer the call for a special assignment. Before he could hum the first few notes of Anchors Aweigh, he would come to believe that what he had asked for and what he had received may not be the same...
Available in the Ships Store »

Listen to a radio interview of the author on "Meet The Author" »

 

— From Footnote™ - Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial allows you to search by name, unit, hometown, or simply browse a 5 gigapixel image of the panels of the memorial, then leave a tribute, a story or photograph about any of the 58,256 veterans listed there. More »

Comprehensive VIETNAM Reference Guide »

HERE'S HOW THEY DO IT! This is a video of a suicide VBIED (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosion Device). The explosions are definitely not like the movies. We were actually out on patrol that day and heard the blast from about 7 miles away. Watch the slow moving dump truck moving toward you in the left lane. You'll see some Iraqi Army humvees pull up behind it before it blows. No Americans hurt that day. View the video »

Read the narrative copy from All Hands magazine [June 1970] about the USS Harnett County during Operation Giant Slingshot and view a copy of the Presidential Unit Citation »

Space-A Military Travel Information from the U.S. Air Force HQ Air Mobility Command »

DFAS Retired Pay Newsletter »

It's Official!! DD-214's are now online through the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).

Vietnam vets' experience on boats utilized in Iraq — 7/9/2006 By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY. Read the full article »

Brown Water Sailors Rededicate Monument (Navy Newsstand article - 7/27/2006) »
Read CAPT. Kenneth Meek's speech here »
Read presentation by Jack Lynch here »

Riverine Warfare website »

East Coast Memorial Monument and MK I PBR Rededication Ceremony — July 21, 2006 Details Here »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Vietnam Vets to Rededicate Monument and Vietnam-Era River Patrol Boat at Little Creek Amphibious Base.
More »

Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument request for donations »

View the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument program online »

Enjoy hundreds of clips of Vietnam-era music »

 

Chapter News!

Read the latest news from:
Midwest Chapter
Northeast Chapter
Northwest Chapter
West Coast
Southeast Chapter
Mid Atlantic

 

Gamewardens' Authors On-Line

 


Tom Glickman – RIVER PATROL FORCE/ RIVER PATROL FLOTILLA FIVE (TF-116) Operation Game Warden 8 November 1967 - 3 November 1968.

Read entire book online »

 

Click here to read A Day In The Life Of The Brown Water Navy...
LTJG John. F. McGuire – A Day In The Life Of The Brown Water Navy.
A rare book by LTJG McGuire that outlines an "average" day on The Mekong Delta in a stunning pictorial fashion.

Read entire book online »

 

Commander Naval Forces Vietnam (COMNAVFORV) Monthly Summaries »

Brown Water Navy And Delta Army Vietnam Veterans Message Board »

Herb Stephan's dedication speech from the ceremony at the Naval Amphibious Base Special Warfare Compound at Little Creek, VA, July 18, 2003 »

 

 

Video — we've got previews of videos available on our ship's store. Take a sneak peek at Vietnam February 22nd, 1969 or Gamewardens Reunion in New Orleans »

The official Gamewardens of Vietnam Newsletter — Brown Water Log. We're working on digitizing back issues — all the way back to 1968! View our archives here »Click here to read a special online edition of November 1966 All Hands Magazine Online!

All Hands — View the complete November 1966 or April 1978 edition of All Hands magazine »

Photo Gallery — Thousands of photos in our photo gallery with more being added every day! See the images that our members have shared with us here »

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