After spending a year on river patrols in Vietnam, Petty Officer 3rd Class Bill Ferguson had a few memorable welcome-back-to-fleet moments. One happened at the front gate of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

About 25 River Rats — men who wore black berets in the brown-water Navy and fired machine guns from fast-moving boats and low-flying helicopters over the Mekong River delta — reunited last ...

He and thousands like him who served in the Mekong Delta were part of the Brown Water Navy, a term which refers to operations ... getting our number painted on it by a scruffy looking ‘River Rat,’” ...

When workers in the shipyard dropped expensive tools in the water, they called on the River Rats for help ... Griffin served in the Navy, then returned to Tampa. He married, had children, and ...