Tributes Through Tattooing
I know tattoos are something many in the different military services use to brand themselves with a particular ‘band of brothers’ or event. Looking at the tattoos fascinates me although I’d never get a tattoo myself. The tattoo of Capt. Michael Pretus is a work of art on his body.
Commemorating combat experience with a tattoo is a warrior ritual that stretches back centuries, a practice “as old as war itself,” said C.W. Eldridge, a historian for the National Tattoo Association and owner of the Tattoo Archive, a Berkeley, Calif., tattoo studio.
Like their counterparts in past wars, Iraq veterans are choosing traditional patriotic symbols — U.S. flags, eagles, names of units — for their tattoos. But some images are strikingly personal. Aided by improved pigments and more sophisticated equipment, they reveal in graphic detail the pain and permanence of war.
That is a very cool picture & topic!
Comment by Greta (Hooah Wife) — November 7, 2005 @ 2:31 am
Wow. You know, when guys are in combat together, they bond to each other and the death of any becomes a lifetime grieving process. I know my husband came back different from Iraq. He was in Fallujah, although didn’t engage in the firefights the solder in your story did; mine helped kill thousands of Baathists outside of Baghdad; it really changes you and makes you bound to the people you fought with . Band of Brothers is a great way to label it.
Comment by Amy P — November 7, 2005 @ 3:57 am