edwardss_extra1Kentucky residents Sally Edwards (left) and Lue Hutchinson (right) both had sons serving in the Gulf War. Sally’s son, Jack, was a Marine captain. Lue’s son, Tom Butts, was an Army staff sergeant. The two men, both killed in February of 1991, never knew each other, but today, their mothers are best friends.

Sally learned about Lue’s son while reading the newspaper and wanted to offer support to someone in a similar position as herself, so she wrote to her, “If you need help and you want to talk, I’m here.”

edwardss_extra2At StoryCorps, they discuss their friendship and share what they have meant to each other’s lives over the years.

Originally aired May 24, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top: Jack Edwards, a Marine captain in the Gulf War, killed in February 1991. Photo courtesy of Sally Edwards.
Below: Tom Butts on top of a Black Hawk helicopter. Photo courtesy of Lue Hutchinson.