INKED BY FAITH: Introduction

In this introduction to Inked by Faith, we begin the story of Operation Tat-Type, a Cold War civil defense program that blood-typed and tattooed thousands of Americans in the early 1950s, including children.The series begins with a family discovery: a grandmother’s tattoo; never hidden, just never talked about. From there, we ask a larger question—not about secrets or conspiracies, but about how communities normalize extraordinary measures in moments of fear… and how those memories fade.This episode sets the stage for the stories still waiting to be told.