PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida soldier deployed in Afghanistan is finding comfort in an unlikely Florida symbol - a pink plastic flamingo.
As a teenager, William Charles Salisbury stole several plastic flamingos from someone's lawn. The theft was an isolated blot on his record and now his grandfather says the flamingos have become a good-natured symbol in Salisbury's life.
Louis Riviezzo recently bought two plastic flamingos, painted them in camouflage colors and mailed them to his 30-year-old grandson.
Salisbury is an Army first lieutenant who arrived in Afghanistan in July.
The Pensacola News Journal (http://tinyurl.com/9vry7fr ) reports that Salisbury displays them in his base camp and sometimes straps one to his gear on missions.
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Information from: Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com
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