(Columbia) January 11, 2007 - There was one man more nervous than Governor Sanford on Inauguration Day. It was the war hero Capt. Brian Pipkin, selected to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 2004, he and his co-pilot, Austin Norris, were hit by enemy fire in their helicopter in Iraq. "Any other factors could have been included in that. It could have been worse," says Pipkin.

Both of the Guardsmen survived. That's why the heros were chosen to be at the inauguration.

Pipkin says being a part of the inauguration was an honor, but as he walked off the stage he was about to do something even more honorable.

He told his girlfriend of more than three years, Candice Conden, they were going on a tour of the State House, "He mentioned after, go give your mom your purse we're going into the State House. I was like, 'Yes, I've wanted to my whole life.'"

But the next surprise was also something she wanted her whole life. It was waiting at the top of the State House, "I had to take my shoes off because we went up ladders and through air conditioning ducts. We finally got up there and spent 10 minutes looking around Columbia."

Candice still thought it was a tour, "We were about to go downstairs and he said, 'You're going to want to put down your stuff.' I wasn't going to put my shoes down to go downstairs. That's when I knew, because he said, 'I'm going to need that hand.'"

Pipkin continues the story, "I got on one knee and it's so small up there my right leg was off the back of the stairs."

She said yes, in a place not too many have ever been. "It was some place we'll always be able to go back to and view for the rest of our lives. It will always be there," says Pipkin.

For Candice, it was "perfect."

They're planning a fall wedding.

Reported by Maggie Alexander

Posted 9:37pm by Chantelle Janelle