Kyle Hock's Tattoography

As of 2013, about 1.4 million people were actively serving in the armed forces. Not only do these soldiers experience hardships such as sacrificing their lives and dreams but they also gain a sense of brotherhood due to close relationships made with other soldiers and they experience feelings of hope through the possibility of recovery if injured. These experiences were captured and depicted in a photograph taken by Laura Rauch, who is a part of the Military’s Stars and Stripes newspaper. In this photograph, solider Kyle Hockenberry had been conducting a routine patrol on June 15 on the outskirts of Haji Ramuddin until an explosion erupted, giving Kyle Hockenberry such extensive injuries that he needed immediate attention.

A large number of people get tattoos -- in fact about fourteen percent of Americans have had at least one tattoo in their lifetime. Whether it is a tattoo of a picture or a tattoo of a quote, everyone seems to dedicate their own meanings to them. What’s ironic is that one soldier’s tattoo became the truth. In this

Brotherhood is shown because everyone is huddled closely together. Not only that, but there are two people in the same uniform as Kyle’s. They are wearing identical uniforms – a shade of light brown and tan camouflage which represents the branch of army. When they put on that uniform, they put all of their differences aside to help one another in terrifying, horrendous situations like these. As Kyle lies there wounded, help is immediately provided. One person looks as if they are tending to his injuries because they are kneeling by his side, whereas the other person is tending to other injuries that he has endured as well. Flight medic Corporal Amanda Kosher plays an important role in this photograph because she is one of the people that saved her teammate’s