Reddit mentions of American Amphibious Gunboats in World War II: A History of LCI and LCS(L) Ships in the Pacific

Sorry, but I disagree with the analysis. To start with, even the title is absurd.

The PT boats, while cheap and well armed, were rarely good for more than harassment. In encounter after encounter in the South Pacific, especially the Guadalcanal campaign, they rarely sunk or even disrupted enemy naval forces - and we generally seen by Big Navy as a nuisance. They MTBs weren't called the "Hooligan Fleet" for nothing. Good for supporting operations - including search and rescue and scouting - they never really lived up to the hyperbolic glory they seem to enjoy, surely in no small part because of JFK's heroics and post-war TV shows. There is a good reason the Navy scrapped the entire idea of MTBs after the war and never really took it up again with any enthusiasm, even with the advent of anti-ship cruise missiles.

If you're looking for small craft that were really unsung heroes of the USN in WWII, look at the Navy's gunboats. They guided and provided close fire support to nearly all amphibious landings and many amphibious reconnaissance operations from 1943 on, did the exact same anti-barge patrolling the PT boats did, and even served as anti-aircraft pickets against the waves of kamikazes at Okinawa, right there along with the destroyers.

A nice counterpoint to the original linked and promoted article: http://www.historynet.com/the-truth-about-devil-boats.htm