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'Where are you, Tam,' Vietnam veteran asks

Ron Kuebler was based out of Landing Zone Gator near Chu Lai in northern South Vietnam from September 1969 until August 1970. He served in the 5/46th Infantry Regiment, 198th Light Infantry Brigade, American Division.

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 17, 2024

Ron Kuebler, a Vietnam War veteran who is active in Scout leadership and the Hendersonville Kiwanis Club, often wonders about what became of Sgt. Tam, his coleader with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

Pvt. Kuebler started his tour in Vietnam as a rifleman and left the country as a sergeant and squad leader. His areas of expertise included infantry and intelligence including aerial reconnaissance missions and intelligence communications.

Ron KueblerSgt. Tam (pronounced Tom) led the South Vietnamese Army unit that assisted the U.S. Army in intelligence and interpreting. Flying in a Huey helicopter fitted with speakers on the skids, they encouraged  Viet Cong and North Vietnam soldiers to surrender their weapons in exchange for money and a chance to return to farming or other pursuits.

Tam and Ron analyzed captured weapons, maps, and battle plans to pinpoint enemy positions. In the process they became friends and shared stories about their families. 

“I have not had any contact with Tam since I left Vietnam and have no idea what happened to him,” says Kuebler, who lives in Flat Rock.

Kuebler’s poem “Where Are You, Tam?” is featured on the website of the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas in Brevard:

Are you bleeding in your mind as you rue your family lost

Tried to reunite but could not afford the cost

Of paying someone to find your family scattered

Or telling you they were found but tattered

Did you make it past the Viet Cong and NVA gauntlet barrier

Trying to figure a way to survive the reprisal harrier

Wonder if you died in the attempt without reuniting

Or did you figure a way to get to them and then get safe hiding

Where are you now as I often wonder

And think about you when we worked the thunder

Trying to get VC and NVA to give up their weapons to us

Disarm them with money and send them without a fuss

To farm their fields and shoot at no others

Be back in the village as if you were brothers

I hope you survived and your family too

What a reunion it would be if I were to see you.