In a fitting tribute to Pirate pride during East Carolina University’s homecoming week, two U.S. Airmen made theirs abundantly clear at a U.S.O. show at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

During a Today show segment Wednesday, the familiar purple and gold Pirate flag rose just beyond weatherman and NBC Today show personality Al Roker’s left shoulder. The flag was held by ECU graduates Senior Airman Nathan Smith and 1st Lieutenant Chris Niswonger.

Nathan Smith is the husband of former Belhaven Miss Independence and Northside track star Ashley Clayton Smith, who knew her husband was attending the show, but had no idea he would be so visible.

“He told me, ‘I’m going to grab the ECU flag, so you can find me,’” Ashley Smith said. “Next thing I know, he’s standing behind Al Roker, just as plain as day.”

While comedian Jay Leno joins Roker on a small stage during the filming, the large Pirate flag can be seen waving in the background.

Ashley Smith describes her husband as a diehard Pirate fan, one who would paint himself purple and gold before every ECU game, and who has carried his Pirate pride overseas in a big way. She said the senior airman’s roommate in Afghanistan is a Florida Gators fan and the two are embroiled in a competition as to who has the most school pride, decorating their room with all things purple and gold in one area, and all things blue and orange in another.

“He uses the ECU flag as a curtain on his bunk bed,” Ashley Smith laughed.

Both Smith and Nismonger are 2011 ECU graduates and are currently stationed in Little Rock, Ark. The two men were deployed to Afghanistan just a month ago and Ashley Smith said they “lucked out,” as it’s only a four-month deployment — Nathan Smith’s first. For the most part, she and her husband communicate through iMessaging, but if the Internet connection is good, they FaceTime one another. He works nights, so the time difference isn’t a hindrance, she said.

While Ashley Smith said she didn’t catch the start of the Today show and the ECU flag waving, what she saw later made up for that entirely.

“In one of the segments, he mouthed, ‘I love you, Ashley.’ I could see it plain as day,” Ashley Smith said. “It just made me cry.”