This Air Force vet tells the story behind ‘Suicide Butterflies’ and her other tattoos

Heather Hayes was an Air Force mechanic who deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan and has tattoos that tell the story of her time in uniform.

To Hayes, "tattoos are a journey."

One of them is a Banksy graffiti piece called "Suicide Butterflies" that depicts a woman shooting herself and the resulting damage morphing into butterflies.

"It's kind of intense I suppose," Hayes said. "Basically it's a symbol of something really tragic turning into something really beautiful."

Hayes's story is part of a series presented by We Are The Mighty. War Ink: 11 for 11 features 11 combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan using tattoos to tell their stories on and off the battlefield. Each week for the next 11 weeks, a different tattoo'd veteran will share his or her story.

Do you have a tattoo that tells the story of your war experiences? Post a photo of it at We Are The Mighty's Facebook page with the hashtag #WeAreTheMightyInk. WATM will be teeing up the coolest and most intense ones through Veteran's Day.

Video Credit: Rebecca Murga and Karen Kraft