History Main / DadTheVeteran

This was a JustifiedTrope not too long ago for American families, given the almost back-to-back nature of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. Sometimes a fictitious GreatOffscreenWar is used when the parental characters would have been too young to have participated in any of the aforementioned wars, depending on the current PresentDay. Given the ongoing WarOnTerror, one can expect this trope to [[CyclicTrope come back into prominence]]. It shows up quite often when the plotline involves TheGenerationGap.

* Weirdly, dramatically and awkwardly inverted in the case of UsefulNotes/TheBerlinRepublic which has a generation (between the WW 2 generation and the UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror generation) that could not have conceivably served in any war under German command. They might regale their kids stories of The ''Bund'' or NVA, but they were both peacetime armies preparing for a war that never came. However, while the new ''Bundeswehr'' is an all volunteer army since the 2010s, it is also an army involved in actual shooting war in UsefulNotes/{{Kosovo}} and UsefulNotes/{{Afghanistan}} since 1999 and 2001 respectively. So there have been newspaper specials about adult sons (and in some cases daughters) talking to their peacetime dads about war and being a veteran.

* ''Series/BlueBloods'': All three generations of Reagan men served overseas in the Marines. All three are also fathers. Danny served in Iraq, specifically Fallujah, and was at one point the SoleSurvivor of his unit. His father, Frank, served in Vietnam. '''His'' father, Henry, served in Korea, though a throwaway line hints he may have previously served in the Pacific Theatre of WWII.

* Captain von Trapp in ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'' served in WWI and was decorated for his actions. He runs his house like a military camp as a result, but Maria gets him to loosen up. [[spoiler:Then the ''Anschluss'' happens and UsefulNotes/NaziGermany tries to reactivate his commission. The von Trapps flee to Switzerland instead.]][[note]]Despite what the film--and the play, for that matter--claim, the family didn't climb over any mountains, they merely took the train instead.[[/note]]

* On ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Frank tries to come across as this, back when he still thought he was Dennis and Dee's dad, mentioning the time he spent in Vietnam. Dee points out that Frank went to Vietnam as a civilian, in TheNineties, to open a sweat shop.

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', all of the Whistler grandmothers had been common line soldiers, descended from soldiers, blacklisted for treason, trained as thieves, and turning their hands to becoming spies. They passed this training down to their daughters, who passed it down to ''their'' daughters. The granddaughters all have military discipline, on down to [[ChildSoldiers the little ones]], and they are well able to defend their youngest and their menfolk. Thanks to the Whistler grandfather and his odd ideas, said menfolk are also somewhat trained. Jerin Whistler benefits from this. He's a NonActionGuy like every male in the setting, but a [[SpiritedYoungLady Spirited Young Gentleman]].

* Paula's father in ''Literature/Ugly Memories'' attended VMI (a real-life military college in Virginia). The audience never finds out if he's a veteran of an actual war or not. Still, his behavior - especially the profanity-filled lecture he gives his daughter - fits this character type.

* Since the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' reboot, ComicBook/LoisLane's father Sam has been an army general (pre-Crisis, he was a horse farmer). This tends to be played for drama as Lois and her father often disagree and her father's military career is sometimes the cause.
* Betty Ross of ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''.
* Kate Kane, ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}, is the daughter of an army general.

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

* Betty Ross of ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* Nikki's dad from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''.

* The Major from ''Series/{{Soap}}'' was a WWII veteran.
* Bill Engvall did this to his daughter's prom date on ''Series/TheBillEngvallShow''.
* ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'' is set and made in a time when conscription was a recent memory.
** Harold Weir served in the Korean War, and Mr. Andopolis was in the Air Force.
** A non-parental example: Mr. Kowchevski (Lindsay's grumpy and hard nosed math teacher) served in Vietnam.
* In ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', Ray's father Frank was a veteran. He served in Korea and tends to bring it up when he's trying to get away with something.
* The Dad in ''Series/TheWonderYears'' was a veteran of the Korean War. It came up fairly frequently (including as a justification for why he didn't need to stop and ask for directions).

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': His military service so defines Lois Lane's father, that even ''she'' refers to him only as "[[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The General]]."
* ''Series/HomeImprovement'', Jill Taylor's father is a gruff war veteran who fought in World War II and the Korean War.
* Martin from ''Series/{{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) comparison to his more effete sons Frasier and Niles.
* Played with in ''Series/MadMen''. Technically, Don is a Korean veteran, and he has a Purple Heart, but the more pertinent fact about his service is that he caused the accident that wounded him and killed his commanding officer, then stole the dead man's identity and used it to desert and start his post-war life (his CO was due to be discharged). Naturally he feels less than pure unadulterated pride when he's asked to stand up along with other veterans at a Memorial Day event and sees his kids beaming and applauding. Later, Betty's father comes to live with them and brings his grandson a box full of his WWI memorabilia, including a helmet belonging to a German he's pretty sure he killed. Don is disturbed and tells him not to put romantic ideas about war into Bobby's head. In Don's other life at the office, his best friend Roger Sterling never misses a chance to brag about his WWII service--he served in the Navy in the Pacific Theater--particularly to young SmugSnake Pete Campbell. It gave him a virulent hatred of the Japanese that seriously threatens a deal with Honda at one point.
* On ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', Mary's father is a WWII veteran. He bores everyone except Sally with his war stories. HilarityEnsues when he and Sally decide to hook up (note he's still married).
* In ''Series/TheMonkees'' episode "The Chaperone", Davy tries to date the daughter of a military man, but has a difficult time finding time alone with her because he runs his household like a barracks.
* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' once featured an advice segment for what to do if there was no war when you were the right age, yet people still expect a war story.
-->'''Red:''' Oh yeah, I was in the war. The big one. [[MundaneMadeAwesome The Gasoline Price War of '69]]...
* In ''Series/{{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 [[MaltShop going out for milkshakes]].[[labelnote:*]]This time travel is not to the fifties. It is to ''1973''.[[/labelnote]] The Marines may have given him the tools to kick ass with, but the BloodKnight TheStoic hunter thing was all him and his vendetta.
* On ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' Cliff Huxtable served in the Navy.
* In ''Series/{{JAG}}'', Harmon Rabb's dad was naval aviator who was MIA in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. Also the series' TeamDad, Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden, served as a Navy SEAL in the same war. Sturgis Turner's father, Chaplin Turner, also served in Vietnam.
** And in the SpinOff, ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a Marine sniper and fought in the invasion of Panama and the FirstGulfWar. And ''his'' father flew a P-51 in WWII.
* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Liz's father was stationed at Pearl Harbor... during the Korean War.
* On ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Frank tries to come across as this, back when he still thought he was Dennis and Dee's dad, mentioning the time he spent in Vietnam. Dee points out that Frank went to Vietnam as a civilian, in TheNineties, to open a sweat shop.
-->'''Frank:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint And a lot of good men died in that sweat shop!]]
* Actor Gerald [=McRaney=] often played Vietnam War veterans or other military character; with the example best fitting this trope being his role on ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'' spinoff ''Series/PromisedLand'' as Vietnam veteran Russell Greene.
** He also played the lead in ''Series/MajorDad'', where he was a mustang, former enlisted (in Vietnam) who became an officer, serving during Desert Storm.

* On ''Series/{{Justified}}'' Arlo Givens and Bo Crowder served together in Vietnam. Arlo came back as as ShellShockedVeteran which turned him into a fairly unstable drunk who beat his wife and son. Raylan Givens acknowledges his father's experiences during the war but considers it no excuse for the terrible things Arlo has done. Bo's war service is not discussed much on the show but we later find out that during the war he made an important contact that later catapulted him into becoming the criminal kingpin of Harlan County.
* ''Series/BlueBloods'': All three generations of Reagan men served overseas in the Marines. All three are also fathers. Danny served in Iraq, specifically Fallujah, and was at one point the SoleSurvivor of his unit. His father, Frank, served in Vietnam. '''His'' father, Henry, served in Korea, though a throwaway line hints he may have previously served in the Pacific Theatre of WWII.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'': Major General Jacob Carter was this for main cast member Samantha Carter, in a double-edged manner. While we don't know too much about her upbringing, we know that he was both an influence on her joining the Air Force herself, and is estranged from her brother due to being away on deployment when their mother passed away.
* Jay Pritchett on ''ModernFamily'' served in Vietnam. An early episode he talks about his job in the army handling explosives. Later episodes though say that he was in the navy.

[[folder:{{Music}}]]
* The music video of Music/TwistedSister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" featured Creator/MarkMetcalf essentially playing [[Film/AnimalHouse Neidermeyer-turned-father]], who runs his house like a disciplined army, and carried an M16, and is just disgusted at his worthless, weak son's choice to play ''that sick, twisted, electric TWANGER'' (a guitar).

-->'''Dad, what did you do in the war?
-->Something to answer for?
-->?You say too young I am to know...'''
* Music/{{Queensryche}}'s critically-acclaimed record, ''American Soldier'' was borne out of singer Geoff Tate's conversations with his father about his experiences serving in the military in Korea and Vietnam.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

Quite often, especially in shows set in the 50s and 60s, 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 [[PapaWolf can be tough guys when they need to be]], and he bases it all on his years of military service.

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 [[Franchise/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.

* Weirdly, dramatically and awkwardly inverted in the case of UsefulNotes/TheBerlinRepublic which has a generation (between the WW 2 generation and the UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror generation) that could not have conceivably served in any war under German command. They might regale their kids stories of The ''Bund'' or NVA, but they were both peacetime armies preparing for a war that never came. However, while the new ''Bundeswehr'' is an all volunteer army since the 2010s, it is also an army involved in actual shooting war in UsefulNotes/Kosovo and UsefulNotes/Kosovo since 1999 and 2001 respectively. So there have been newspaper specials about adult sons (and in some cases daughters) talking to their peacetime dads about war and being a veteran.

** Parodied when Frank Costanza told a war story about being in the military... as a cook. It was played in full-blown MundaneMadeAwesome flashback.

* In ''Film/SecondhandLions'' during Hub [=McCann's=] Crowning Badass Speech of Asskicking, when he single-handedly takes down the greasers who invade the diner, he rather pointedly mentions that he is a veteran:
-->'''Greaser Punk:''' "Who the hell are you, old man?"
-->'''Hub [=McCann=]:''' "I'm [=Hub McCann=]. I've fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I've seen the headwaters of the Nile, and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I've won and lost a dozen fortunes, killed ''many'' men, and loved only ''one'' woman with a passion a '''''flea''''' like you could never begin to understand. That's who I am. NOW, GO HOME, BOY!"

* Played with in ''Film/WarHorse'', where it isn't quite the trope it'd be in a post-Great War setting. Mr. Narracott is shown as having fought in the Boer War, and it's hardened him somewhat, but not in a positive sense. He [[ShellShockedVeteran refuses to talk about what he did or even acknowledge his medals and regimental pennant]]. His wife explains the situation to Albert, his gentle and somewhat simple-minded son, but it doesn't keep him from attempting to enlist in World War One at the first opportunity.
* Captain von Trapp in ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'' served in WWI and was decorated for his actions. He runs his house like a military camp as a result, but Maria gets him to loosen up. [[spoiler:Then the ''Anschluss'' happens and UsefulNotes/NaziGermany tries to reactivate his commission. The von Trapps flee to Switzerland instead.]][[note]]Despite what the film--and the play, for that matter--claim, the family didn't climb over any mountains, they merely took the train instead.[[/note]]
* The step-dad in ''Film/{{Boyhood}}''. At one point, Olivia marries Jim, who has just come off of tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In his initial scenes, he comes off as responsible and driven, reciting his experiences in a down-to-earth way while revealing that no one in his platoon lost a life during the time he was in the service. However, it's hinted that his time in combat had a greater effect on him than he'd been willing to admit, as he turns to drinking later on in the film, and repeatedly reprimands Mason whenever he perceives the latter as slacking in his life decisions.

This was a JustifiedTrope not too long ago for American families, given the almost back-to-back nature of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. Sometimes a fictitious GreatOffscreenWar is used when the parental characters would have been too young to have participated in any of the aforementioned wars, depending on the current PresentDay. Given the ongoing WarOnTerror, one can expect this trope to [[CyclicTrope come back into prominence]]. It shows up quite often when the plotline involves TheGenerationGap.