After 21 years of service, U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Louis B. Smith Jr. found himself battling a new enemy: heart failure.

The ink on his chest spells out a lyric from Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” a song his father introduced him to when he was young.

"That’s when I said, can you do me a favor?" Smith recounted. "If I have to have this new heart, can you make sure…when you ...

Louis B. Smith Jr., shown during his days in the Army, says he’s grateful his doctors were able to preserve his chest tattoo during his heart transplant. Northwestern Medicine Share Louis B.