transcript

Specialist Zachary Boyd in his pink boxer shorts

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MARCO WERMAN: Now, you may have seen a photo in the news this week. It first appeared on the front page of the New York Times. We've put a link to it at theworld.org. It shows, from the back, a group of US soldiers fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan. One of them is wearing armor, a helmet – and pink boxer shorts that say “ I love New York.” That particular soldier is Specialist Zachary Boyd of Bravo Company of the First Infantry Division. And here with the story behind the photo is Zack's mom, Sheree, talking from her home in Fort Worth, Texas.

SHEREE BOYD: He's on 24-hour duty, and it was his turn to get, as they call it, rag time. But the Taliban came along and started shooting, and so he just heard it and ran and started doing his job. There just happened to be some reporters there. Obviously he wasn't thinking and he just grabbed what he thought was the most necessary parts of his uniform. And he called and said his picture was to be on the front of the New York Times, and we're expecting just a regular old picture. And my husband got on the Internet and I was in the other room, and he started laughing, and he was laughing and laughing. And I'm trying to fumble around, find my glasses, and everything and go in there and my husband's still laughing. And I'm going, “Oh, my God. What has he done now?” Then we get on the Internet there, and it's really crazy, you know? He was always one to always wear boxer shorts all the time anyway, so I was not surprised that that was also happening over in Afghanistan. He hoped that he still has a job, because he had heard that the New York Times gets delivered to The White House, you know? And he's going, “Oh, no!” You know? And it's been really funny that he doesn't have his face but he has this behind that everybody is going to know. He picked up the boxers when he was on leave in March, and he came home. And his plane had trouble, and they sent it back to New York. And Zachary, when he was a young man, you know, he was old enough to understand 9/11, and so he had told us that where he is is where a lot of the planning for 9/11 had taken place and everything. And so, I'm sure that when he saw those boxer shorts that said “ I love New York”, that just was kind of – he had to have those. And he had quite a few opportunities to go to college, and he had a very strong feeling that he needed to go into the service and help out. And so that's kind of what that picture to me symbolizes is that he's standing up, you know, for me. And at the same time, you know, his first goal in life was to be a comedian, so – whoops, here he is. His behind is plastered everywhere.

WERMAN: That's Sheree Boyd, who's son, Zachary, is serving with the US Army in Afghanistan. Zachary Boyd turns 20 on Sunday. Many happy returns.

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