Australian diggers reveal the intimate war experiences that inspired their tattoos as part of News Corps Anzac to Afghanistan project.
Marked for life ... soldiers' tattoos are full of meaning. Picture: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
WHEN Australian soldier Amini Soko strode into a tattoo parlour in Portugal and asked about the most painful place he could get inked, he was still reeling.
Just days earlier, while the young digger was on active duty in Afghanistan, two of his mates — Sappers Darren Smith and Jacob Moerland — had been killed in a bomb blast.
The most painful place is the ribs, the tattooist told him.
"OK, I'll get it there then," Soko replied.
ANZAC TO AFGHANISTAN: 100 YEARS OF UNTOLD STORIES
It was June 10, 2010, and the Brisbane-based soldier was on his mandatory two-week mid-deployment leave.
For the next seven hours Soko, then 20, gritted his teeth as the needle etched a hand holding a cross with the words "in memory of fallen comrades" on his torso.
Pain written in ink ... Amini Soko. Source: News Corp Australia
"I was pretty much reflecting on the days prior. I still couldn't believe that we'd lost those two boys … I was very emotional at the time and at the same time I was in a lot of pain," he said.
"I actually nearly cried.
Full of meaning ... the tattoo Amini Soko had inked on his ribcage. Source: News Corp Australia
"It was the most painful seven hours but when I would think about it, it was like, it wouldn't be as painful as what their family is going through right now so I just have to sit through it and soldier on."
Men like Soko aren't the type to write in diaries, as our First World War diggers did.
A century on, many keepers of the Anzac flame are recording their intimate experiences in the most personal, permanent and primal way possible — as body art.
The former private from the 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, who moved from Fiji to Melbourne as a teen, went on to get "in God I trust" tattooed across his chest.
"Even though I grew up in a Christian family, I didn't really believe in God until I went to Afghanistan and came back," said Soko, who now lives in Sydney.
Never forgive, never forget ... a statement in indelible ink on Jared Purcell's hands. Picture: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
"Those boys who died over there could have been anyone. I wake up every morning and look at my tattoos and it reminds me of Afghanistan and I realise how lucky I am."
Soko is among a generation of warriors who say tattoos have become an intrinsic part of modern military culture. Their designs variously record their experiences, salute the lost and — in some way — define who they are now.
"I've got a kangaroo killing the Grim Reaper and throwing the death card back at him," said former Private Jared Purcell.
"It symbolises that I went to Afghanistan and came back and the Grim Reaper didn't touch me on the shoulder."
Statement of survival ... Jared Purcell's back features a kangaroo killing a Grim Reaper. Picture: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
While the image across the ex-infantryman's back tattoo represents his own survival, a common theme among the men is fallen friends.
"I've got two empty 5.56 cartridges on my back with (Lance Corporal Luke) Gavin and (Private Matthew) Lambert's names — two of our mates that we lost while we were over there," he explains.
"I've got a portrait of some of the boys kneeling over the coffins in the back of the Herc" — the military's Hercules aircraft.
For the 26-year-old from Townsville's 2RAR — who has inked 85 per cent of his skin — the deeper the anguish, the more painful the tattoo.
Daily reminder ... Liam Haven has dedicated some of his body to the time he served under the army. Picture: Nicole Cleary Source: News Corp Australia
When he had his platoon patch with "all gave some, some gave all" tattooed on the back of his head, he gripped so firmly that he ripped fabric from the chair.
"That was excruciating," he said.
"I wanted it to be in a tough place because it sort of meant a lot to me."
Private Liam Haven, from Brisbane's 6RAR, has half a dozen military-related tattoos but has seen only two.
The rest were inked after he was blinded by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq in 2007 when he was just 19, a couple of weeks before he'd been due to fly home.
"After I got injured I went on this big binge of getting tattoos," he said.
"I decided to get a phoenix that goes across my chest and halfway down my stomach to represent rising from the ashes.
"I got blown up and I wanted something to represent that I was going to conquer it one day. I still haven't but I will. One day I'll make the accident my own."
"One day I'll make the accident my own" ... Liam Haven's recovery has been a rocky road. Photo: Nicole Cleary Source: News Corp Australia
After the incident Haven was posted to Perth's 16RWAR — in his hometown — for rehabilitation before moving to Melbourne. But recovery has been a rocky road on which he's struggled with depression and alcohol abuse.
As well as being robbed of his sight he also lost several close mates, including Private Nathan Bewes, who was killed by a detonating improvised explosive device in July 2010, aged 23.
"On my left shin is a graveyard scene with blank tombstones that represent friends who died in Afghanistan," he said.
"There's also a woman chained to a statue, who represents the innocence you have before you go overseas. When you come home it's in the graveyard with your dead mates because you don't come home the same."
ARE YOU AN ILLUSTRATED SOLDIER?
A call-out to the nation's soldiers - whether they are illustrated or not. Source: Supplied
Every soldier has a story: If you have ink, or would like to share your military experience in another way, follow the link above.
The painfully detailed illustrations — of terror, brotherhood, honour and faith — camouflage war wounds the men are typically reluctant to share.
"I get a lot of questions about them but a lot of the times I'll lie or just make up a story," Pte Haven said.
"Lots of people do that when they have tattoos because a lot of them are personal and the stories that they hold, you only want to share them with people you're close to."
Most "have no idea" what our boys faced in Afghanistan, says former trooper Tom Kelsey.
"If someone were asking me what my tattoos were about, my answer four years ago as opposed to now would probably be quite different," he said.
RELATED: The history and the meaning of tattoos
Lest we forget ... Tom Kelsey's tattoos commemorate fallen soldiers. Photo: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
Honouring friends ... Liam Haven's shin features a graveyard scene. Picture: Nicole Cleary Source: News Corp Australia
"Depending on who they were I probably would have told them it wasn't their business.
"But if I did know them I'd explain to them it was about the guys that we lost and things like that."
The 25-year-old paramedic who was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Solomon Islands with Brisbane's 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment says one tattoo — "it was the best of times; it was the worst of times" — sums up his army career.
"It was an amazing experience to be a part of but to lose those guys almost wasn't worth it in the end," he said.
"Within a four-month period we lost 10 guys.
"Afghanistan was a rough trip for all of us … it was the bloodiest they had seen since battles in Vietnam."
And he refused to return, knowing he'd never again share a hill in the Chora Valley, Uruzgan Province, with mates Private Tom Dale, 21, and Private Grant Kirby who were killed by a detonating IED in August 2010.
Closely guarded secret ... Tom Kelsey says it is impossible to replicate the mateship men enjoy in the army. Photo: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
"I remember when I heard the news," he said.
"There was that moment of disbelief … then you're sort of thinking 'are they talking about the right guys? Because I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be dead'. But unfortunately it was.
"I was one of the lucky few who weren't present when the boys got killed and I'm very thankful for that because the guys who saw that should never have had to see that."
A work in progress ... former special forces soldier Nick Hill is changing his tattoos to incorporate his lost mates. Photo: Sam Ruttyn Source: News Corp Australia
War veteran Nick Hill from the 2nd Commando Regiment joined the army 25 years ago with big ideas about what he'd achieve, naive to the reality of combat.
"Every year I've lost some really good friends," said the former Company Sergeant Major.
"The deaths of our mates, they're the hardest times."
In memory ... the Spartan on Nick Hill's left arm represents Bravo company where he was Company Sergeant Major. Photo: Sam Ruttyn Source: News Corp Australia
Of Australia's 40 operational deaths in Afghanistan, 15 are from his unit's ranks.
"Cam Baird was killed. Brett Wood was killed. Luke Worsley's been killed. And the names go on and on and on," he said.
"We thought after Cam was killed that he might be the last one.
"I don't think it's going to stop to be honest. Whether it's in Afghanistan or somewhere else. That's what actually happens as part of what we do."
The 42-year-old spent time at 4th/19th Prince of Wales light horse and eight years at Adelaide's 5th/7th battalion when it was based in Sydney before being selected for Special Forces.
The old-school Bravo boy's unfinished sleeve represents the 17 years he spent at that company.
"Originally it was just going to be about Bravo Company and Spartans," he said.
"Now I'm going to add the honour to Cam and all of the other guys who have been killed in the unit and who we are and what we are."
"The Army becomes part of you" ... Former Private Matthew Tolson from Townsville's 1RAR still misses the military. Photo: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
Mixed feelings ... Matt Tolson had the Anzac Ode tattooed up his army after serving in East Timor. Photo: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
Death and injury aren't the only traumas returned soldiers suffer.
For former Private Matthew Tolson from Townsville's 1RAR, losing the job he loved most when he was medically discharged has been unbearable.
"When I look at the tattoo I have mixed feelings. I feel a bit sad about getting booted out of the army because I was broken," he said.
"You're doing something, you belong to something … you've got a mission and a goal.
"Even as a kid all I wanted to do was join the army. I joined the army for all its good and bad. I'd do it again if I was able to and they'd have me back. I'd re-enlist in a shot."
The 30-year-old, originally from Port Sorell in Tasmania, had the Anzac Ode tattooed up his arm upon his return from East Timor in 2006.
"When you salute it's got lest we forget," he said.
"It's going to mean something for the rest of my life.
"It's attached to the Timor trip and the army becomes part of you. It doesn't matter whether you're out or in."
Comprehensively inked ... former private Ryan Dodd was the youngest on his patrol base, COP Mashal, in the Baluchi Valley. Photo: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
But amid the horror and heartache of war are tales — like those hidden in Ryan Dodd's frontpiece — of adrenalin, action, accomplishment and even affection for Afghanistan.
More than 30 hours went into the intricate illustration, which incorporates patrol base COP Mashal in the dusty Baluchi Valley where he spent nine months.
"You couldn't leave the wire without wearing your body armour even to burn the rubbish. You had to have the boys in the tower watching over you," he said.
"I've got a guy on the side firing a mortar off.
"We dropped a 'danger close' mission for our boys into the green zone, which was probably like the pinnacle of what a mortar-man could have done on a trip."
New career ... Ryan Dodd now works as a tattoo artist on the Gold Coast. Photo: Jeff Camden Source: News Corp Australia
The 24-year-old from Darwin's 5RAR, now a tattoo artist himself, says his frontpiece means the most.
"I think we dropped four live HE (high explosive) missions onto the enemy and obviously you want to go over there and do the job so those memories, our first fire mission," he said.
"I had my undies on and I just quickly put my puff jacket, threw on my shorts, run out in my thongs, dropping bombs for the boys because they were in contact.
"It was just instantly like 'fire, mission, boom, let's go, got to drop bombs."
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with anxiety, depression or suicidal feelings, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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