Sgt. Jared Taylor, a scout with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, shows his new fox tattoo to the judges at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Taylor ended up winning best color tattoo. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt. Jared Taylor, a scout with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, shows his new fox tattoo to the judges at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Taylor ended up winning best color tattoo. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
Spc. Dallas Immell, an infantry soldier with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, shows his new tattoo of Perseus to the judges at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sunday, April 15, 2018. Immell ended up winning best overall tattoo at the expo. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. soldiers getting tattooed at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sunday, April 15, 2018. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
Pvt. Peter Bower, an infantry soldier with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, gets an ancient Germanic symbol tattooed on his forearm at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sunday, April 15, 2018. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt. Kevin Deerwester, an infantryman with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, gets a skull tattooed on his knee at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sunday, April 15, 2018. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
A group of Americans watch a U.S. soldier get tatooed at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sunday, April 15, 2018. Taylor ended up winning best color tattoo. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
Spc. Marcus Sheppard, a military policeman at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, shows his in-progress tattoo of a map of the world, at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sunday, April 15, 2018. Taylor ended up winning best color tattoo. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt. Carlos Aizaga, a paratrooper with the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) shows his in-progress tattoo of Steve Zissou, from the movie "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr, in Grafenwoehr, Germany on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Taylor ended up winning best color tattoo. (Martin Egnash/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — U.S. soldiers won almost every category of competition at the Tattoo Expo Grafenwoehr this weekend, held near the U.S. Army training area.
More than 100 U.S. soldiers got tattooed at the first expo held in the small town, getting everything from motivational tattoos of their unit logos to colorful drawings of their favorite superheroes and realistic portraits of loved ones and pets.
Many of the soldiers, like Spc. Dallas Immell, an infantryman with the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Vilseck, wanted to get tattooed at the convention as a way to remember their tours in Germany. Immell’s tattoo of the Greek hero Perseus won best overall tattoo on Sunday.
“I’m leaving soon, so I wanted to get this to celebrate the time I’ve spent here,” Immell said.
Others, like Sgt. Jared Taylor, a 2CR scout, whose new fox artwork won best color tattoo, came because they love tattoo conventions and were excited to see one pop up right outside the base.
“I had a great time at the expo, not just getting tattooed but seeing what everyone else got,” Taylor said. “I think it’s a great idea to have a tattoo expo so close to a U.S. base, because that’s what a lot of soldiers like to spend their money on.”
