A soldier from North Texas is making national headlines and proving that real men do wear pink undies.

An Associated Press photographer captured 19-year-old Army specialist Zachary Boyd fighting off a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan -- in his underwear. The photo of Boyd, clad in the pink "I *heart* NY" printed boxers ended up on Tuesday's front page of the New York Times.

His mother, who lives in Keller, said her son was sleeping when someone opened fire on his base and he didn't have time to put on his uniform or boots.

Boyd called his parents on Monday to let them know he might be in the paper. His father said that after he logged onto the New York Times' Web site he laughed for the next five minutes.

"I knew he was a boxer guy, I knew that for sure," Tommy Boyd told WBAP. "I did not know they were pink, and I didn't know they said, 'I love New York.'"

Boyd is a 2007 graduate of Keller Central High School.