History Main / DadTheVeteran

* [[{{Supernatural}} John Winchester]] was a Marine Corporal in Vietnam, home again some time in his early twenties to marry his sweetheart. We know him as the hard-bitten, driven CrusadingWidower who raised his two sons in a kind of traveling boot camp, so it's quite a shocker when TimeTravel in season four reveals that he came back from the war still a cheerful, outgoing young fellow. Whose idea of a date was apparently going out for milkshakes. The Marines may have given him the tools, but the BadAss hunter thing was all him and his vendetta.

-->-- [[{{GTA Radio}} Radio commercial]], ''GrandTheftAutoIII''

Quite a few female characters are given a Veteran Dad as an excuse for why she's [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily tough and independent]], but it can also be a FreudianExcuse if he was a tyrannical martinet who lorded over his family with an iron hand. Sometimes this allows female characters to have access to unusual skills or assets, on the assumption that senior military officers use their aviation regiments as their kid's private chauffeurs.

* Since the ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' reboot, Lois Lane has repeatedly stated that the reason she's so tough and capable is [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily because Army General father wanted sons instead of daughters]], and thus raised Lois and her sister Lucy as if they were male.

* Nick's dad from ''FreaksAndGeeks.''

-->'''Red''': Oh yeah, I was in the war. The big one. The Gasoline Price War of '69...

Quite a few female characters are given a Veteran Dad as an excuse for why she's [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily tough and independent]], but it can also be a FreudianExcuse if he was a tyrannical martinet who lorded over his family with an iron hand. Sometimes this allows female characters to have access to unusual skills or assets, on the assumption that senior military officers use their aviation regiments as their kid's private chaffeurs.

* Betty Ross of ''TheIncredibleHulk''

Often this is pulled in situations where a younger (almost always male) character needs to be browbeaten or intimidated. Whether the dad was merely a marine, or the equivalent of [[MetalGear FOXHOUND]], at some point, they'll bring it up in a not-so-casual way when they need to remind the younger character that they aren't as soft and yielding as they seem to be.

-->-- Radio commercial, ''GrandTheftAutoIII''

* Nikki's dad from MalcolmInTheMiddle.

* Bill Engvall did this to his daughter's prom date on ''The Bill Engvall Show''.

* KingOfTheHill has Hank's dad, Cotton. He frequently abuses his status as a veteran, and remains a [[StrawMisogynist misogynistic]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]], and downright unpleasant wanker to his death at the hands of... [[WeaksauceWeakness shrimp allergies.]]

* Parodied in ''{{Seinfeld}}'' when Frank Costanza told a war story about being in the military...as a cook.

Quite a few female characters are given a Veteran Dad as an excuse for why she's [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily tough and independent]], but it can also be a FreudianExcuse if he was a tyrannical martinet who lorded over his family with an iron hand.

This was a JustifiedTrope not to long ago, given the almost back-to-back nature of WorldWarII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

* Martin from ''{{Frasier}}'' was both a Korean war veteran and a retired homicide detective. This didn't come up that much in the RetiredBadass way, but was simply another facet of Martin's generally masculine persona in (comedic) comparision to his more effette sons Fraiser and Niles.

* Martin from ''{{Fraiser}}'' was both a Korean war veteran and a retired homicide detective. This didn't come up that much in the RetiredBadass way, but was simply another facet of Martin's generally masculine persona in (comedic) comparision to his more effette sons Fraiser and Niles.

* Red Forman on ''ThatSeventiesShow''.

Quite often, especially in shows set in the 50's and 60;s, the father figure will be a veteran. Whether he's a StandardFiftiesFather or an OverprotectiveDad, he's capable of being a real hardcase in the right circumstances. Yes, even the Dads who appear to be nothing but creampuff can be tough guys when they need to be, and he bases it all on his years of military service.

* Bill Engvall did this to his daughter's prom date on ''TheBillEngvallShow''.

!!Examples:

* * ''{{Smallville}}'': His military service so defines Lois Lane's father, that even ''she'' refers to him only as "[[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The General]]."