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 reports that Salisbury displays them in his base camp and sometimes straps one to his gear on missions.
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