Soldier in pink boxers fought Taliban

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan has become a media sensation after he was photographed fighting Taliban forces while stripped down to his skivvies.

Army Spc. Zachary Boyd, 19, who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, said he was in his sleeping quarters at Firebase Restrepo in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar province when the Taliban attacked, forcing him to take up a defensive position while clad only in his helmet, protective vest, a T-shirt and his pink "I Love NY" boxer shorts, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Thursday.

A wire service photographer snapped a picture of Boyd rushing into action in his undershorts and the snapshot wound up on the front pages of the Star-Telegram and The New York Times.

The soldier's mother, Sheree Boyd, said her son called Monday night to tell her his picture might be in the Times.

"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 anymore after the president has seen me out of uniform.'"

Mrs. Boyd said she was not surprised to see her "Zacho" in pink underpants.

"It was typical," she said. "He has always been an interesting little character."