Military tattoos go beyond skin-deep

Unfortunately, the article doesn't discuss the unfriendliness the military
has for what it considers too many tattoos or too much of the body being
inked.

Kelly



Chicago Tribune

September 24, 2006



Military tattoos go beyond skin-deep

It's goodbye, Popeye; detailed designs are in for soldiers, sailors


By Jason George
Tribune staff reporter


Former Army Ranger Eduardo Flores had his right arm inked with an
image that appears drawn from a desert nightmare.

"I wanted to show pain and sorrow," the Chicagoan said, displaying a
half-sleeve tattoo of a crying and contorted face.

Since then, the Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran has followed that
tattoo up with another of a soldier kneeling in prayer and the phrase
"Never Forget the Fallen."

"I wanted to show respect," Flores, 25, said.

Travel almost anywhere throughout history and chances are good that if
soldiers and sailors are present, so too are tattoos. While sailors'
forearms were once weighted down with anchors reminiscent of Popeye's, now
realistic portraits and abstract memorials such as Flores' are much more
common, said Steve Gilbert, author of "The Tattoo History Source Book."

"It's the fashion these days when they have tattoo shading that allows
you to have faces and whatnot," he said. "Before it was just line work and
solid color."

So gone are the glory days of broken hearts, dancing ladies and the
ships that once rocked with a flick of a pec. Patriotic icons such as
eagles and flags still call soldiers' biceps home, but seemingly much less
so. Just as weapons have evolved from the spear to the laser-guided bomb,
so too has the tattoo.

"In World War II you had tattoo shops in port towns," said Nick
Colella, a Chicago tattoo artist. "And the tattoos were designed as an
in-and-out kind of thing.

"But it's not like it used to be when it was 50 sailors in a shop. Now
it's spread out and customized," he said, adding that smaller needles,
better tattoo machines and more uniform batches of pigment now allow the
more detailed kind of work.

Jeff Klug, 37, a Navy veteran, got his first tattoo this summer and
never once considered picking a stock design off the wall.

"I wanted something I felt was representative of me, and I wanted
something unique and original," he said.

He made sure to include images of Neptune's trident, an aqualung and a
boat oar, and the tattoo's text reads, "Those who Dare: Respect All, Fear
None."

Its centerpiece is a skull, which Klug chose to honor a friend who
died in Fallujah, Iraq.

"It's not only for him," said the Des Plaines police officer, choking
back tears. "But it's for all the guys who have gone over there and put it
on the line."

Kurt Baldyga of Justice, who was Klug's tattoo artist, said changes in
military tattooing mirror shifts in the industry as a whole.

"You find less and less that people are getting them because their
friends get them, but [rather] because they are personal," he said, as he
filled in areas of pigment to Klug's upper arm.

"I give everyone my best work, but I try to be even more respectful of
these memorials because it has the utmost significance."

Marine Staff Sgt. Mike Mendoza, 27, has three completed tattoos,
coincidentally the number of times he's been to Iraq.

Mendoza is at home in Tinley Park, recovering from a grenade blast
last month in Iraq that left him with two collapsed lungs and no spleen.

"If I can get healed by Nov. 1, I will be going over there the fourth
time," he said eagerly.

One of his tattoos is of a sniper, Mendoza's infantry job. And another
is the "Fallujah Warrior," originally a drawing that--thanks to the
Internet--has become a popular tattoo image. It shows a Marine shouldering
a rifle during the infamous 2004 battle in that city.

"I got that one because I was shot twice in Fallujah in that same
exact pose," Mendoza said, adding that body armor saved his life.

His third tattoo is what those in the corps call "meat tags," which
are like permanent dog tags and usually list a soldier's name, Social
Security number, blood type and service branch. Fulfilling a role that is
part practical, part macabre bravado, meat tags aid in the identification
of bodies that have lost all other forms of ID.

Not that Mendoza's would help too much.

Because of grenade shrapnel received last month, the tattoo now looks
as if he's missing two Social Security digits.

"I'm going to leave that the way it is," he said.

----------

jageorge@tribune.com

Kelly Pierce wrote:
> Unfortunately, the article doesn't discuss the unfriendliness the military
> has for what it considers too many tattoos or too much of the body being
> inked.

Your point being?

Let me short-circuit you, if I may.

The military is an employer. As such, it has the right to define the
parameters of your employment. It also has the right to expect that
some will advance in skills, ability and rank.

A person who has visible tattoos can't go undercover.

Get the point?

I'm sure Capt. Google, late of the Navy, has a different opinion.

Can't wait.

Kavin

Kavin Taylor wrote:
> Kelly Pierce wrote:
> > Unfortunately, the article doesn't discuss the
> > unfriendliness the military has for what it considers
> > too many tattoos or too much of the body being inked.
>
> Your point being?

That you can't make a comment unless it relates to... Capt. Google and
Capt. Google's opinion? That'd be my guess.

> Let me short-circuit you, if I may.

You may not. You're obviously already fully occupied in short
circuiting yourself. ;o)

> The military is an employer.

Your point being? HA!

> As such, it has the right to define the parameters
> of your employment.

How old are you again? Someone told me they're upping or have upped the
max age to be enlisted or commissioned to 46. Maybe we'll be serving in
the same unit when the next bozo decides to roll over Tehran. Or kill
some newly-minted service members in the attempt. They're bringing back
the draft, don'tcha know!

Something tells me that enforcing your aforementioned parameters will
be the least of the government's concerns if that comes to pass.

> It also has the right to expect that some will advance
> in skills, ability and rank.

No duh. What's your thesis statement? Or have you already been awarded
that PhD?

> A person who has visible tattoos can't go undercover.

What the hell?

> Get the point?

Okay, Tom Clancy. What percentage of U.S. military personnel currently
serve undercover? Of that number, now many do you think already have
tattoos? Of THAT number, how many do you think have stereotypical
waving U.S. flags, Navy ships at sea, USMC-themed tattoos thick with
bulldogs and Semper Fi emblazoned across their biceps?

> I'm sure Capt. Google, late of the Navy, has a different opinion.

I wouldn't be surprised.

> Can't wait.

Oh, sure you can.

> Kavin

But because you're obviously so enamored of the good captain:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...captgoogle.jpg

Enjoy!

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/

Curt James wrote:
> Kavin Taylor wrote:
> > Kelly Pierce wrote:
> > > Unfortunately, the article doesn't discuss the
> > > unfriendliness the military has for what it considers
> > > too many tattoos or too much of the body being inked.
> >
> > Your point being?
>
> That you can't make a comment unless it relates to... Capt. Google and
> Capt. Google's opinion? That'd be my guess.
>
> > Let me short-circuit you, if I may.
>
> You may not. You're obviously already fully occupied in short
> circuiting yourself. ;o)
>
> > The military is an employer.
>
> Your point being? HA!
>
> > As such, it has the right to define the parameters
> > of your employment.
>
> How old are you again? Someone told me they're upping or have upped the
> max age to be enlisted or commissioned to 46. Maybe we'll be serving in
> the same unit when the next bozo decides to roll over Tehran. Or kill
> some newly-minted service members in the attempt. They're bringing back
> the draft, don'tcha know!
>
> Something tells me that enforcing your aforementioned parameters will
> be the least of the government's concerns if that comes to pass.
>
> > It also has the right to expect that some will advance
> > in skills, ability and rank.
>
> No duh. What's your thesis statement? Or have you already been awarded
> that PhD?
>
> > A person who has visible tattoos can't go undercover.
>
> What the hell?
>
> > Get the point?
>
> Okay, Tom Clancy. What percentage of U.S. military personnel currently
> serve undercover? Of that number, now many do you think already have
> tattoos? Of THAT number, how many do you think have stereotypical
> waving U.S. flags, Navy ships at sea, USMC-themed tattoos thick with
> bulldogs and Semper Fi emblazoned across their biceps?
>
> > I'm sure Capt. Google, late of the Navy, has a different opinion.
>
> I wouldn't be surprised.
>
> > Can't wait.
>
> Oh, sure you can.
>
> > Kavin
>
> But because you're obviously so enamored of the good captain:
>
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...captgoogle.jpg
>

Badass!

radio913 wrote:
[...]

> Badass!

heh :o)

What up, G? I hope all is going well in your neck of the woods.

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/