I do not if it is still true today, but in WW II the Marine Corps attracted a disproportionate share of enlistees from former Confederate states. In the Civil War the Army was hugely expanded and the Marine Corps very little. Therefore, Southerners would say that were willing to serve the country, but not in any goddamnyankee outfit. And yes, goddamnyankee is one word, and no it is not profanity.
The tattoo makes a statement about a vital aspect of our military heritage. This country owes as much to the South as the North. But now to serve popular morality, we must banish from history the Confederate battle flag and those who served under it. Responding to these assertions, I quote Joshua Chamberlain who received the Confederate surrender at Appomattox.
“Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond;—was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured?â€
Winston Churchill commented concerning American entry into WW II that victory was then assured, because our Civil War demonstrated the tenacity required to defeat the Nazis.
Back in the 80's, I had an NCO hang a confederate flag in the semi-private room he shared with a dark green Marine. The dark green Marine wasn't happy about it, and honestly, a bunch of white Marines also complained, thinking it was uncool. They didn't think we needed a potential flashpoint, or to introduce something racial into a unit that never had problems.
Me, my CO, and the colonel all agreed that it wasn't good to put it up in a shared room. We "suggested" that it come down, and it did.
I'd do it again, too. Keeping a unit tight without problems is more important than some peckerhead wanting to make a statement.