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By JANE BANGLEY
Rappahannock Ncwi Staff Writer
Stepping into the home of Paul and Cucie (pronounced cookie) Baldwin is like entering a museum filled with artifacts from all over the world. Theirs is a friendly museum, though, where touching the treasures is allowed, and where the hours slip by unnoticed as the Baldwins share their memories of life in Vietnam and Indonesia.
The den and living room are the main display areas for the souvenirs that include statues, vases, brass objects from China and India, ceremonial knives, a boat carved from a rubber tree and many other pieces most of which are antiques and all are handmade. A witch doctor mask hangs from one of the den’s walls where it can guard the house and its treasures from evil spirits.
Every object has a history that Paul and Cucie can tell. The Baldwins have collected so many objects over the years that many are still in storage due to lack of room in the house.
The story of how a Culpeper native developed such an impressive collection as well as a slight accent that is not the expected Southern drawl is one that spans about 20 years with many plot twists and turns beginning in the 1960s when Paul was a first sergeant in the army stationed in Vietnam.
“Between my tours of duty, I stayed in Vietnam and did some counter insurgency assignments with the Department of Defense,” Paul said. “I had had all of the training that was possible so I was pretty highly qualified.”
Paul was not allowed to talk of his assignments during those years. “I can
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