FORT HOOD (July 3, 2009)—Spc. Zachary Boyd, 20, the Fort Hood soldier from Fort Worth who was rousted from sleep by enemy fire on his post in eastern Afghanistan and waged war in his pink "I Love New York" boxer shorts, has returned to Central Texas in time to celebrate the Fourth of July with his family.

Boyd and about 200 other soldiers arrived late Thursday night at Fort Hood.

The world would never have known about Boyd had it not been for Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder who recorded the moment in a picture that ran on the front page of the New York Times and in publications and on Web sites worldwide.

Boyd said he never could have guessed how much attention that photo would get.

“You don't really know what to think, when you're in a war zone,” he said.

“You're disconnected, so when you see something like that, it blows your mind,” he said.

Boyd was asleep when firebase Restrepo in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province came under fire.

He grabbed his rifle, his helmet and his body armor and rushed with other soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry to take up defensive positions.

He later told his parents he was afraid he’d lose his job “if the president sees me out of uniform.”

Presumably the president did, and so did Defense Secretary Robert Gates who made it clear that Boyd’s job wasn’t on the line.

Well, let me tell you, the next time I visit Afghanistan I want to meet Spc. Boyd and shake his hand,” Gates said.

Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage,” he said.

“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. I can assure you that Spc. Boyd’s job is very safe indeed,” Gates said.

Boyd has a four-day pass to visit his family.