Army buddies who never knew each other

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THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

Ed Callais has been part of Chattanooga Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker just about every Christmas for the last fourteen years. It all started when Ed's oldest Daughter was part of the production.

"This truly is our winter family. I can't wait for this time of year," Ed said. "Even though my oldest daughter doesn't dance in The Nutcracker, my youngest daughter is in it as a soldier."

Over the last thirteen years Tim Forsythe has been right there on stage with Ed.

"This is something we look forward to every year," Tim said.

Tim and Ed thought this annual production of The Nutcracker was the biggest thing they had in common. That was until veterans day 2015. Tim saw a picture that Ed posted on Facebook.

"I thought that looks familiar, and I started looking and was like I know those drill instructors," Tim Forsythe said. "I emailed him, and was like what are you doing putting my picture on your Facebook?"

In 1986, Ed from Louisiana and Tim from Chattanooga were in the same Army boot camp platoon in Missouri. Before they saw the same picture they had no idea they were in the same platoon.

"You shave everybody's head here. Would you recognize them in twenty years. There is no way," Ed Callais said.

They say even looking at the picture they still didn't remember each other from way back then.

"(I have) no recollection whatsoever. Sometimes when you're in basic you like to lay low," Tim said. "I never remembered seeing him there, but then we had a lot of stories then to talk about. We knew a lot of the same people that we had interacted with in basic, and a lot of the same drill instructors."

Sharing those memories has made Tim and Ed better friends.

"It's a bond that you never forget," Ed said.