It is very easy to just sit here and write about US political and military strategy in Afghanistan and discuss how these battles are either won or lost and lose track of what is actually happening in the lives of the individuals actually doing the fighting (and dying), both Americans, Europeans, Afghanis, etc. The iconic picture of U.S. Army Specialist Zachary Boyd crouched in a defensive position against enemy fire, wearing pink ‘I love NY’ boxers brings a stark reminder that the people waging the war we talk and read about back home are…real people. People that every morning wake up and choose what underwear they are going to put on and wonder what the day holds for them in a foreign land ripe with dangers and unknowns.
As Boyd’s mother has stated, this picture helps remind us Americans that the men and women fighting for our safety over there are really just the ‘kid next door’. It’s a shame we need things like pink boxers to remind us of this at times.
