War Paint

Tattoo Culture the Armed Forces. For many servicemen, the battle is over, but the ink lives on. Thousands of soldiers have chosen to commemorate their military service through tattoos, a custom as old as war paint itself. Yet military tattoos go far beyond the usual anchor and eagle clichs, and are often as complex and varied as the military experience. For the first time, documentary photographer Kyle Cassidy has sought out veterans who marked their military service with a tattoo and they are shown here in all their glory fresh, faded, sometimes intertwined with wounds, physical and otherwise. And the stories behind these tattoos,