In memory of my dad... tattoo

I've been thinking and thinking what tattoo I would get in memory of my dad. An American flag. A quote. Some mentioned dog tags with his name. There was even mention of combat boots, his dog tags, the American flag, and a slight view of a Vietnam flat- whoa.... I wanted small and HELL no am I putting anything Asian on my body. So I kept thinking... and my option was going to be a quote on my foot but I just didn't know what to put. Ok, the obvious was "Roy Hoy the Good Boy" (before you think what the heck, let me explain). My dad always said "Roy Hoy the Good Boy". When I was younger, like 6 or so, he actually had a t-shirt made with that saying. So let me say this now, there is no way I'd put that on my body. The saying makes me laugh but it's not something I would want on me for the rest of my life. So we are now back to the idea of the American flag, I love America, my dad was a Recon Marine, so why not... but maybe a flower, well not a rose and possibly a heart but I just don't like that idea for a tattoo. Then, I was talking with a friend, she said I need something that symbolizes not just the military side of my dad but the fact that my dad lived his life to the fullest. He had no fear, he accomplished his dreams, and he had no regrets. That is when it hit me... the drawing. The drawing that I saw just months after he died. The drawing that was on a letter addressed to my mom after my parents split up. The letter that told my mom how much he loved me. How he prayed to God, something he had stopped doing but now was doing again... he prayed to God that nothing bad would happen to me. He told my mom how on the day I was born, the reason he went for a jump (skydiving) was to celebrate my birth. That he understood she was not happy about it but he just had to do it. The same letter that told my mom how he would be there for her and for me. Where he signed his name, he doodled this drawing. A drawing I grew up  knowing as my dad's little symbol. A drawing, that as I mentioned, I had not seen for years until I found the letter my mom had saved all those years ago. A letter she didn't even remember she had.  A letter that means the world to me. So I took the drawing, the exact one from the letter, and the tattoo artist drew it on the back of my neck. I can hear my dad now... not too happy that I got a tattoo but I would hope he would be proud of my choice. It will be with me forever and a constant reminder that my dad has always and always will have 'my back'. So dad, this one is for you... I love you!