My name is Shep. I just recently got this tattoo done in Anderson South Carolina at Artistic Ink. Lance Wilson hooked it up for me.

I choose this design for many different reasons. I am an Operation Iraqi Freedom war veteran, and a proud American. I am dealing with being out of the military right now. Its not an easy road to go down. For three years that was the life I knew and now I am starting over. Some times a fresh start isn’t the easy way to go. I picked this tattoo in part to help me remember the good times I had, and to honor those Heroes we lost during this time.

You can see there are 5 stars showing on the folded Burial Flag, those stars each represent one Hero from my unit. Some of those guys I did not know personally, but I occasionally cry for them and their families (as I type this). At any point in my tour I could have been represented by a burial flag.

The grieving mother/wife/sister is there to represent all who have lost someone due to war. I simply cant imagine how it would feel to lose a family member in this war. I hope I never have to find out.

This tattoo is very nice and a really cool looking tattoo, but it is much more than just another cool tattoo. This is to forever remember those fallen heroes.

-Shep