Troops home in time for holiday Posted On: Saturday, Jul. 4 2009 01:26 AM By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald

WEST FORT HOOD – The world has seen Spc. Zachary Boyd in his underwear.

Pink boxers, to be specific.

He and about 200 other soldiers from the battalion returned to Fort Hood late Thursday night. Officials expect all the brigade's soldiers to be back in Central Texas by the second week of July.

Boyd was featured two months ago in a now-famous Associated Press photograph. He was asleep in his "hooch" when some American soldiers got pinned down by Taliban machine gun fire in Eastern Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Boyd, who was 19 at the time, jumped out of bed and took a position alongside two other soldiers – Spc. Jordan Custer and Spc. Cecil Montgomery – from the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Platoon, Viper Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

The young infantryman was wearing a helmet, vest, red T-shirt, flip-flops and pink boxer shorts printed with "I Love New York." The other two had on most of their uniforms, but Custer wore silver running shoes instead of boots.

Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder took a photo that later appeared around the world and on the front page of the May 12 New York Times. Boyd didn't find out about the photo until a few days after it was published in the most well-known newspaper in the world.

"Oh boy," he thought.

Boyd thought he'd for sure get in trouble for being out of uniform and photographed wearing something he bought during a trip to New York because he thought it would make his buddies laugh.

The Secretary of Defense assured the country that Boyd's job was safe during a May 21 speech in New York City.

"Well, let me tell you, the next time I visit Afghanistan I want to meet Spc. Boyd and shake his hand," Robert Gates said. "Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage. And 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 crosshairs – what an incredible innovation in psychological warfare."

It turned out OK, Boyd said Thursday night shortly after arriving a Robert Gray Army Airfield.

The pink boxers had their intended effect. Boyd's buddies laughed and made jokes about his famous rear end, he said.

Boyd's story is more than a humorous anecdote. It's a reminder of the battalion's difficult year in a country that until last summer had seen few Fort Hood troops. Central Texas soldiers are familiar with Iraq and the brigade was the largest unit from here to deploy to Afghanistan so far.

"We had a pretty tough fight," said Capt. James Howell, Viper Company commander.

The soldiers were attacked by the Taliban every day – three or four times a day in the fall – with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.

Boyd said he didn't have time to get dressed when the attack started and wouldn't expect his buddies to either if he were in a bind. His rush to help his fellow soldiers just underscores how dedicated they are to each other, Howell said.

Oh, and the pink boxers? Boyd's bosses have them, which is a "little weird," he said. "They're dirty of course," he added. "They asked for them, so they got them."

The pink "I Love New York" boxers and flip-flops are set to be displayed at the 1st Infantry's museum at Fort Riley, Kan.

Contact Amanda Kim Stairrett at astair@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7547.

The New York Times contributed to this report.