Teenage soldier went into battle against Taliban… wearing ‘I love New York’ pink boxer shorts
Taking on the Taliban in pink boxer shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops is not regarded as conventional military uniform.
Especially when the shorts declare ‘I love New York’.
However when Zachary Boyd, 19, was woken up by a Taliban assault on his platoon he only had time to grab his weapon, helmet and body armour before springing into action.
Most of the time his appearance on the Afghanistan’s frontline would have gone unnoticed by the eyes of the world.
However, Boyd managed to pick the day when a photographer was on hand to capture him going into battle in the pink boxers, red t-shirt and flimsy footwear.
Zachary Boyd had been asleep when the firefight erupted in the mountains of Afghanistan. So he only had time to put on his helmet, body armour and grab his weapon
The image of the fight at Firebase Restrepo in the Korengal Valley of Kunar Province later ended up on the front page of The New York Times.
‘I knew he was a boxer guy. I knew that for sure. I did not know they were pink, and I didn’t know they said, ‘I love New York,’ father Tommy Boyd told his local Texas radio station WBAP.
‘After I saw the picture I just laughed for about five minutes.’
Boyd phoned his mother Sheree Boyd to warn her that he might be in the paper.
‘He said: “I hear the Times is what they put on the President’s desk”,’ she said.
‘Then he told us, “I may not have a job any more after the President has seen me out of uniform”.
‘It was typical. He has always been an interesting little character.’
Boyd, who graduated from Keller Central High School in 2007, decided to join the army because of the September 11 attacks.
He was promoted to the rank of Army Specialist last week.
The Ministry of Defence today said that A British soldier has died in an explosion in Afghanistan.
The soldier, from The Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, was killed yesterday while travelling in a Viking vehicle near Lashkar Gah, in Helmand Province.
Next of kin have been informed.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: ‘We are numb with grief at this loss of a noble Marine, who served his country for the good of the Afghan people.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues who feel the greatest loss.
‘He will always be remembered as a true hero.’
The marine is the 159th British Army soldier to have been killed in Afghanistan since conflict began in late 2001.
Britain has more than 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, the vast majority serving in Helmand, a desert province that remains a heartland of Taliban-led insurgency.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday praised an Army soldier in eastern Afghanistan who drew media attention this month after rushing to defend his post from attack while wearing pink boxer shorts and flip-flops.
In fact, Gates said he wants to meet the soldier and shake his hand the next time he visits Afghanistan.
“Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage,” Gates said in remarks prepared for a speech in New York.
“I can only wonder about the impact on the Taliban. Just imagine seeing that: a guy in pink boxers and flip-flops has you in his cross-hairs. What an incredible innovation in psychological warfare,” he said.
Army Specialist Zachary Boyd, 19, of Fort Worth, Texas, rushed from his sleeping quarters on May 11 to join fellow platoon members at a base in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province after the unit came under fire from Taliban positions.
A news photographer was on hand to record the image of Boyd standing at a makeshift rampart in helmet, body armor, red T-shirt and boxers emblazoned with the message: “I love NY.”
When the image wound up on the front page of the New York Times, Boyd told his parents he might lose his job if President Barack Obama saw him out of uniform.
“I can assure you that Specialist Boyd’s job is very safe indeed,” Gates said in the speech.
The U.S. defense chief was scheduled to deliver the speech at New York’s annual Salute to Freedom dinner in Manhattan.
Zachary Boyd: This Bud’s for you!
