The Things We Carry Forward

The Things We Carry Forward

There are some places you never really leave.

They may be thousands of miles away. You may not see them for fifty years. But they stay somewhere in the geography of your life, waiting.

This week, we meet Culpeper's Paul Hvidding, who flew 80 missions over Vietnam from the second seat of an A-6 Intruder and returned roughly half a century later with five of his former squadron mates and their wives.

What they found wasn't a way to rewrite what happened.

It was a chance to see it differently.

Paul's story also got us thinking about another Culpeper connection to the military that is much easier to miss. Around the county, companies are working on rocket propulsion, lightweight aerospace materials, precision-machined components, specialized cables and advanced technology connected to the defense world.

You can live here for years and drive past some of these places without having the slightest idea what happens inside.

So this week's issue is partly about looking again.

Sometimes at a place.

Sometimes at a piece of history.

And sometimes at the building you've passed a hundred times on the way to somewhere else.

Dtom Dtun Noodle

If Dtom Dtun Noodle has been sitting on your "we need to try that place" list, consider this your nudge. The Davis Street spot brings together Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Korean noodle dishes in one colorful downtown dining room. Take a look at the menu and give them a try.

Fifty Years Later, a Culpeper Veteran Went Back to Vietnam

Paul Hvidding once flew Vietnam missions from the second seat of an A-6 Intruder.

Roughly fifty years later, he returned with five men from his old squadron and their wives, retracing places that had once existed mostly as coordinates, targets and memories.

Their 16-day journey eventually became the documentary Return of the Intruders.

Paul's story is certainly about military service. But it is also about friendship, memory, returning to places we thought we'd left behind and discovering what half a century can do to perspective.

The A-6 Intruder Needed Two Sets of Eyes

The A-6 Intruder was unusual for putting its two crew members side by side instead of in tandem. That layout gave the pilot and bombardier-navigator a much more collaborative cockpit than many military aircraft of the era. The Intruder was also built around an advanced all-weather attack system that let crews operate at night and in poor visibility, which was a major part of what made the aircraft distinctive.

Five Good Reasons to Leave the House

This week's picks range from a 25th-anniversary remembrance and a state-park weekend to the Farmers Market, local history and a whiskey release with a habanero kick.

5 Culpeper Companies Connected to the Defense and Aerospace Industry

Paul Hvidding's story gives us the human side of military aviation.

But Culpeper has another connection to the defense world, one that's surprisingly easy to drive past without noticing.

Around the county, companies make rocket propulsion systems, lightweight aerospace composites, precision metal components and specialized cable. Another local technology company has roots in defense research and advanced computing.

This isn't intended to be a complete directory of Culpeper-area defense contractors. It's a look at five companies whose work helps reveal a much larger industry operating quietly around us.

Pull Up a Chair

Good food is better around a shared table. Join the Culpeper HQ Dinner Club to hear about upcoming dinners and gatherings before the seats disappear.

Help Us Find the Next Good Story

Know someone doing something interesting, generous or distinctly Culpeper? Tell us who we should meet next.

What Are We Missing?

Send us the event, place, idea or local story more people should know about.

One Last Thing

There’s a nice symmetry to ending this week in Colorado.

While Paul Hvidding’s story looks back on service, memory and the places that stay with us, my brother Andrew was out west this week playing **“God Bless America”** with a guitar, a mountain range and what may be one of the better backdrops a Marshall amp has ever had.

Different generation. Different setting. Same song. Same country.

That feels like a fitting place to leave this issue.

You can hear Andrew’s performance here:

**God Bless America, from Colorado**