This Marine came back from Iraq with some hard lessons learned

Chris Markowski is a Marine who served in Iraq less than ten months after graduating from high school. Markowski's unit deployed with 48 men, but only 18 returned alive or uninjured.

Sprawling across Markowski's arms, legs, and back is a tattoo of a quote he found on a piece of scrap paper while walking across a base in Iraq. It is from the famous Czech historian Konstantin Jirecek and reads: We are the unwanted, using the outdated, led by the unqualified, to do the unnecessary, for the ungrateful.

"It spoke deeply to me. Many of the people that actually join the military are unwanted by society," Markowski explains. "But the military gives you the ability to make a future."

Markowski's story is part of War Ink: 11 for 11, a video series presented by We Are The Mighty.  The series 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 tattooed 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