Sheptalk

Forum Topic
Hammond Indiana

Subject	Message	Replies
Cold War era tattoos Date: 05-26-2010 By: Paddy	My wife asked me about the tattoo on my right side, which caused me to think about where I got it when. It was my first (and only) tattoo, and I got it when I was in grade school in Hammond. Yes, grade school. It was not part of a gang rite. Rather, it was a Civil Defense program during the Cold War. I attended All Saints Grade School during 1947-55. I am not sure when the Civil Defense measures began affecting us, but I recall the drills where we would take cover under our desks in the event of an atomic attack. I also recall lining up to bare the right side of my torso while someone zapped me with a tattoo (a series of dots) that was supposed to show my blood type. The theory was that such tattoos would aid rescuers in helping victims after an atomic bomb attack. Thankfully, we never experienced the outcome that our country was preparing for during the Cold War. Civil Defense drills like hiding beneath desks might sound silly now, but as ineffective as they would have been in the face of an atomic attack - they were the only practical defenses at the time. My blood-type tattoo is a physical reminder of living in Hammond during the Cold War era. The series of dots must have made sense at the time, but not now. My wife is an RN, and she has no idea of how the tattoo identifies a blood type. I would love to find out more about how I and my fellow-students came to be tattooed at such an early age, but have found nothing to date.	9

Replies

Date	Member	Message
05-27-2010 ( Reply#: 5593 )	Jim R	Only had time for a "quickie search", but came up with these references to blood type tats in northern Indiana. http://www.conelrad.com/atomicsecrets/secrets.php?secrets=11 http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(07)02359-6/abstract Sorry, the second link only works if you copy and paste in in your address bar. Harding K thru 7 Morton 8 thru 12 Class of 1972
05-27-2010 ( Reply#: 5594 )	BobK	We didn't get them in public school. My wife attend Saint Casimir and got the tat. Her's says A+ or O-.
05-27-2010 ( Reply#: 5595 )	S C Jones	I had never heard of this practice--Jim Plummer, one of our members has his story on the first site Jim R. cited. No one in my family was cold-war tattooed--Parish,Harding, and Morton evidently didn't tattoo. Also, I never had to undergo the "get under your desk" ordeal, either, though I had read about that practice. Interesting that some systems took those precautions and others did not. It just occurred to me that the reason I didn't experience the under-the-desk drill was probably because I was (from age 7�11) living in the country in SE Kentucky.[
05-27-2010 ( Reply#: 5597 )	Paddy	[quote]Originally posted by Jim R Only had time for a "quickie search", but came up with these references to blood type tats in northern Indiana. http://www.conelrad.com/atomicsecrets/secrets.php?secrets=11 The conelrad.com site is great. Now I know the story behind my "Atomic" tat.
05-27-2010 ( Reply#: 5598 )	BobK	I remember the under the desk drills. Under the desk, head between the legs and kiss your butt good-bye.
05-29-2010 ( Reply#: 5612 )	Jim Plummer	It's amazing how nobody believes this ever happened but it did. I see a guy over at the gym all the time and he got his 'atomic tattoo' in Crown Point.
05-29-2010 ( Reply#: 5613 )	Jim Plummer	Paddy, my wife just reminded me that mine is on the left side near my waist and is still easy to read as O+. The O is flat on one side since I moved during the procedure. I had asked the tattooist if it was going to hurt and he lied to me! The good thing about this was when I later got one as an adult, I knew what to expect.
05-29-2010 ( Reply#: 5615 )	Paddy	Mine is also on the left side.
05-31-2010 ( Reply#: 5629 )	Jim Plummer	You had me worried for a moment there Paddy. I wonder what became of all the little girls who got their atomic tattoos at the same time. Maybe they are too shy to own up.