Trailer for Tattooed Under Fire

Back in March, the AFI Film Festival screened the documentary, Tattooed Under Fire, about the River City Tattoo Parlor in Killeen, Texas, home of Fort Hood. Filmmaker Nancy Schiesari became fascinated by the fact that American Army soldiers deploying to Iraq were getting “meat tag” tattoos — essentially, their ID information tattooed on their body so it could be identified if they were blown up. With other images, they were marking their bodies the way the Army and the war had marked their lives. But Schiesari also found that they would open up emotionally and tell tattoo artists many things they wouldn’t tell anyone else — like their fears, like their post-traumatic stress.

Wednesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans’ Day and KERA – Channel 13 is airing Tattooed Under Fire at 10:30 p.m.