My wife's dad was a very young soldier in WWI, and he married late, hence while many people my wife's and my age had dads in WWII, her dad was in the previous war. He suffered from poison gas his whole life, but was a cheerful and somewhat carefree guy, and became a father in his mid/late forties. His unit was inspected by General Pershing, and he was in the back ranks, an enlisted cook. And the General had the troops about face, and he inspected the back ranks and singled out my wife's dad for a short conversation since they were both Missourians. As a patient in VA hospitals, he was driven around by Bess Truman, future first lady, and met the comedy team Abbot and Costello. He also won a pancake eating contest which received national publicity.