Trends In Navy Tattooing

Good article in Navy Times.

FORT DRUM, N.Y. — Before he went to Iraq, Sgt. Chris Freeman got a tattoo of the Chinese symbol for soldier. When he got back he got another, but this one was far different.

The “sleeve” tattoo covering his left arm depicts his struggle to come to grips with war, “a never-ending battle between heaven and hell,” says Freeman, a former infantry leader with the 10th Mountain Division.

“I don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” Freeman said as he watched tattoo artists ink work at Empyre Tattoo in Carthage, 2 miles from Fort Drum.

Tattoo artists whose shops are near military bases say Freeman is typical of many soldiers and Marines returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the beginning they wanted tattoos that identified them by name, religion or simply as soldiers, as Freeman did, says tattoo artist Scott LaGrange, 26, of Forever Tattoos in Evans Mills.

“That’s when their religion comes out,” LaGrange says. “Crosses, bottles of booze, hearts with “Mom” and “Dad.”

A former Marine and veteran of Afghanistan, LaGrange says those who return are requesting skulls, patriotic phrases or memorials to fallen comrades.


Tattoo artist Jim Frost, 36, of Forever Tattoos, flipped through a portfolio showing unit patches, religious symbols and American eagle tattoos that he did for soldiers early in the war. A more recent popular tattoo shows a skeleton climbing out of a coffin and reaching for a Kevlar helmet.

It means “they’ll do what they have to for the cost of freedom,” Frost says. Another recent tattoo carries the inscription “Never Forgotten” over the 101st Airborne Division banner with its eagle shedding a tear.


Good article. I never got tattooed myself, can't think of any single thing that I want on my skin enough to justify one.