DESIGN MEANING:

While deployed in Iraq in 2005, U.S. Marine Chris Stephenson and his convoy were hit by IEDs. He was thrown from the vehicle and suffered severe internal and external injuries. His comrades in the vehicle were killed instantly by the impact.

The symbols within his design represent this life-changing moment. The jagged lines represent the splitting of this humvee, while the triangles symbolize how he was launched into the air from the vehicle, which ultimately may have saved his life. The dotted lines are his unconnected memories, the flowers are the daisy chain of IEDs that his vehicle hit, and the swirls are the whirlwind recovery process that will never end for him.

At the foundation of everything, the Eagle represents his U.S. Marine brothers and sisters. No matter who you are or where you’ve been, there’s no place like home surrounded by the ones you love.