How World War II Popularized Tattoos

People have had tattoos going back thousands of years. But in the United States, they never gained much traction until World War II, when service members started getting them as symbols of patriotism, adventure, commitment, comraderie, love, courage, toughness and identity. Upon returning home, these service members then spread tattoo culture to the U.S. population at large. Since then, tattooing has only surged in popularity. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found roughly a third of Americans sport at least one tattoo, with the military remaining a hotbed of skin art.

For most of U.S. history, tattoos were an underground phenomenon, largely limited to such “fringe” groups as sailors, criminals and carnival performers, says Chase Tomlin, curator at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. At least some military men had long gotten inked. Civil War tattoos, for example, included commemorations of the historic naval clash between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, whereas during the Spanish-American War, a number of sailors purportedly had “Remember the Maine” tatted across their chests. During World War I, certain U.S. troops marked themselves with their service numbers to help with identification in case they died in battle. Others got tattoos in honor of the nurses who helped them regain their health.

It was not until World War II, however, that tattoos became more widespread. “World War II introduces this form of self-expression to so many more people than ever before,” Tomlin says. He notes that though tattoos wouldn’t fully enter the mainstream for a few more decades, the war was a “transitional moment that definitely reduces the stigma.”

Port cities turned into particular tattoo hot spots following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, which brought the United States into the Second World War. In Honolulu, for example, there were reportedly eight tattoo parlors by 1944, including Miller’s Tattoo Emporium, whose proprietor inked hundreds of service members per day and advertised himself as the “world’s greatest and youngest tattoo artist.”

Locally famous tattoo artists could be found in New Orleans, New York City, San Diego, Los Angeles, St. Louis and elsewhere. American service members got tattoos overseas as well, sometimes from their fellow soldiers or, more professionally, from people like George Burchett, the so-called “King of Tattooists” in London.

“The tattoo shop was a place where you would go with your buddies,” says Danielle Boiardi, curator and guardian of the Lyle Tuttle Tattoo Collection and author of Uncommon Valor: The Symbolic Language of WWII Tattoo Art. “Young men were trying to find a way to embolden themselves and have morale in the face of what must have been absolutely terrifying.”

Many of the service members getting tattoos were still teenagers who had rarely left their hometowns and who wanted to express their individuality and tell the story of their wartime experiences. Fatalism also compelled them to act. “They think, ‘I might as well, because I might not be here next year,’” says Kyle Cassidy, a documentary photographer whose books include War Paint: Tattoo Culture & the Armed Forces.

In some instances, alcohol played a role. One World War II veteran told Cassidy of waking up one morning with a hangover and a bloody paper towel taped to his arm. He thought he must have been in a fight. But when he pulled off the paper towel, it revealed a tattoo of three horses. Luckily, Cassidy says, the veteran apparently liked his surprise skin art.

The different military branches had—and still have—different tattoos associated with them. “A very large number of sailors, one of the first things they’ll get is an anchor to represent that they’re now part of the Navy and its very rich heritage,” Tomlin says. A classic Marine Corps tattoo, on the other hand, pictures a helmeted bulldog.

Tattoos referenced a specific place—like palm trees as a stand-in for Hawaii—or a specific military job, such as paratrooper, steelworker or gunner. Engine room workers would get “red devil” tattoos because “it was hot as hell down there” in a ship’s bowels, Boiardi says. Some tattoos mentioned particular ships or units, whereas others were overtly patriotic, such as American flags and eagles. Mottos ranging from “V for Victory” to “Remember Pearl Harbor” to “Death to Hitler” to “Death Before Dishonor” to “Homeward Bound” were common as well.

Certain tattoos had to be earned. Shellback turtles indicated sailors who had crossed the equator, and golden dragons indicated sailors who had crossed the international date line. Each tattooed swallow, meanwhile, represented 5,000 nautical miles traveled.

Tattoos memorialized comrades lost in battle. They referenced family members and sweethearts waiting at home. They served as good luck charms. They indicated religious faith. They occasionally covered up war scars. And they oozed toughness, with, say, a dagger puncturing a skull.

There were comic tattoos—like dogs that, with just the right arm movements, could be made to lick their own butts. There were tattoos of popular cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, Betty Boop and Popeye and actors like Betty Grable. And there were pin-up girl tattoos, sometimes dressed in sailor’s caps or pilot goggles and not much else (though the Navy banned full nudes).

“[Some soldiers] are looking for something that makes them feel that they have a girlfriend out there with them on the battlefield,” Boiardi says. Cassidy recalls an uncle who came home from World War II with a hula girl tattoo. “He could make her dance by twitching his muscles,” Cassidy says.

Overall, more than 16 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II. It’s not known exactly how many of them got tattoos. But those who did and made it home then reentered American society. For the first time, Americans could observe tattooed men at the supermarket, the doctor’s office, the bank and other everyday locales. (Although more women than men now have tattoos, very few women got tattooed during World War II, Boiardi explains.) Before long, tattoos likewise started appearing in ads and movies.

Some World War II veterans later expressed tattoo regret. But Cassidy found that even those who had long tried to hide their tattoos were happy to speak about them. “Their tattoos were a connection to who they were before,” Cassidy says.

Unlike during World War II, 21st-century U.S. service members tend to get customized tattoos rather than pre-designed “flash” tattoos. “The skill and technique and equipment have evolved a great deal,” Cassidy says. “You see things today that look like the Mona Lisa.” But the reasons for getting a military tattoo remain largely unchanged. “If you’re in the military, you might be having an experience that sticks with you for the rest of your life,” Cassidy says, unlike, say, “if you become an accountant.”