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thedrifter
12-18-07, 05:00 AM
Tattoos let troops wear feelings at their sleeves
These Fox Company Marines are Brett Favre fans, and the ink of their autographs is permanent
By MEG JONES
mjones@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 17, 2007

Twentynine Palms, Calif. - Like most Packers fans, Matthew Bannach, Jayson Wissmueller and Joe Stewart wanted Brett Favre's autograph.

Not content to wait outside Lambeau Field with pen and paper, the three Marine lance corporals simply Googled the Green Bay quarterback's signature, printed it and took the John Hancock to a tattoo artist in San Diego while they were on leave. Actually, Wissmueller organized it and talked Bannach and Stewart into getting the $50 tattoos in October.

"Two beers later, it was a great idea," said Bannach, 21, of Franklin.

Tattoos and Marines go together like the halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli. And for the illustrated men of Milwaukee-based Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, the tattoos they choose to wear into battle reflect their feelings and morals.

Many Fox Company Marines sport tattoos on their shoulders, biceps, pectorals, forearms and backs. If a Marine has one tattoo, it's most likely the eagle/globe/anchor symbol of the U.S. Marine Corps, and he probably got it after finishing boot camp.

"With Marines, you want to tag yourself," said Lance Cpl. Terry Medema, 24, of Waupun. "There's a pride - you're in a family."

There are tattoos memorializing lost comrades and combat tours of duty, dog tags on their ribs, interlocking tribal symbols, Marine unit mascots, names of family members and tats celebrating something they're proud of, such as the birth of a child.

And then there are the tattoos sported by Cheeseheads who think Favre is, like, the best quarterback ever.

Wissmueller and Bannach got their Favre signatures stenciled on their biceps, while Stewart wears his over his heart because his biceps already are adorned. Wissmueller, 21, of Grafton, and Stewart, 29, of South Milwaukee, didn't tell their wives what they were doing until the ink had dried.

The Fox Company Marines have been at the large training base in this southern California community since mid-September preparing for deployment to Iraq next month. The training schedule has been hectic, with little free time, which means they haven't gotten to watch much of the Packers this season. But they all know about Favre's record-breaking season.

Any regrets?

"Absolutely not," said Wissmueller, whose other tattoos include a cross with the words honor, justice and truth in Latin, and the Chinese symbols for brothers for life. "When I raise kids, I'll make sure they know he's the greatest quarterback."

Bannach's epidermis also sports the name of Ryan Nass, a buddy who died in Afghanistan, and an 8-inch-tall map of Wisconsin on his left ribcage, where he plans to get small logos for the Packers, Brewers and Badgers where Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison are located. Bannach also has a life-size bullet on the inside of his wrist, which he said is "mostly because of these guns" as he flexed his biceps like a bodybuilder and grinned.

Some Fox Company Marines have stopped at the eight tattoo parlors in Twentynine Palms, where Larry Mora, owner of Custom Tattoos, said he and the other tattoo artists "would probably starve without the Marines."
Symbols, memorials

Mora, who has been a tattoo artist for three decades, has become adept at the eagle/globe/anchor symbol, which accounts for about 85% of his Marine business. He also has done quite a few fallen Marine memorials of an upturned rifle, boots and helmet.

"Sometimes it's pretty sad to know their friend was hurt or killed. Some keep it to themselves and don't talk about it, and sometimes I get six, seven, eight guys all wanting the same thing - their buddy's name," Mora said.

Another popular Marine tattoo is a replica of their dog tag, sometimes called a meat tag, which some get with just the lettering and outline of the tag, while others want their tattoo to include the dog tag's chain piercing their skin, Mora said.

"One Marine told me, 'If I get killed, this is a way I can be identified,' " Mora said.

Like all tattooed Marines, Fox Company members were photographed to document their skin decorations after the decision by the Marine Corps in March to ban sleeve tattoos that can be seen when they wear exercise uniforms - a move some Fox Company Marines said was too strict.

They're allowed to keep tats they already had when the ruling went into effect but cannot get new ones on parts of the body that are exposed when wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Many Fox Company members - who this week are finishing a training exercise simulating urban combat - said they plan to get tattoos when they return from their next deployment.

Cpl. Matthew Johnson, 22, of Brookfield probably will get another tat commemorating the upcoming trip to Iraq to add to his skin art, which includes the letters USMC with a dragon and cherry blossoms curling around it.

"They're kind of addicting once you get one," Johnson said. "Every single station, every deployment, it's like a reminder."

Ellie