Ouch - yes I suppose laser removal hasn’t been around very long. “Hula girl” - was he in the Navy and did he drink heavily with his buddies while on shore leave in Hawaii? - That would explain it. Alcohol & peer pressure!
I give a pass to enlisted military members who have them, as long as they’re not an offensive design. Like you said, enlisted members are much more likely to have them.
There are regulations about which ones are allowed, and now they’ve even relaxed the restriction for the academies, such as the AF Academy. I know the academies allow at least some tattoos, such as the kind that look like an armband around the biceps.
Generally speaking, officers don’t have them at all - I’ve never seen an officer who had one, unless maybe they were prior enlisted.
I think he got it in New Orleans while attending Tulane. He joined the ROTC - though he had offers to play professional football. Back then (late 40’s) players got paid per game rather than a salary, per se. He wanted to fly airplanes so he joined the Air Force. I’m guessing he realized officers weren’t supposed to have tattoos. He retired as a Major after 20 years and he flew A1 Skyraiders in Viet Nam and then F4’s once back home. He was an instructor for the F4 Phantom until he retired. I’m proud of his service.