One American family sent its fathers and sons to the front lines for 250 years
One American family has been sending generations of fathers and sons into frontline combat across nearly 250 years of American history, and its legacy survived each war. For Tanner Sheffield, an Army combat veteran from Brandon, Mississippi, this is his family history.
A former 11B infantryman who served with the 2nd Infantry Division’s 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment (known as the “Tomahawks” in Korea), Sheffield discovered his family’s military history stretches back to the birth of the United States. But what began as an exploration of his ancestry became something much bigger.
It turns out that his family’s story entails a documented account of multi-generational frontline infantry combat veterans, family sacrifice, and a remarkable knack for survival.
He tells this story in his self-published memoir, “The Veterans Day Son,” and it’s quite a story.
Family History Written on Battlefields
Sheffield’s family tree doesn’t just include military service, it follows the front lines of American history. His ancestors Arthur and Isham Sheffield were brothers who served as captains in the North Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War. Their service came at a tremendous cost: Isham was captured and died as a prisoner of war.
Generations later, their descendant William Sheffield fought with the 38th Alabama Infantry during the Civil War, another chapter in a family history shaped by the realities of frontline combat. The family’s call to service continued across generations, with fathers and sons serving the country as it moved through one conflict after another. For Tanner Sheffield, the story eventually came full circle in Korea.
Nearly 250 years after his ancestors fought for American independence, he found himself serving as an infantry team leader. But the most astonishing discovery wasn’t that he had followed his ancestors into combat, it was the overwhelming number of family connections to the Korean War.
In the book, he documents that he, his maternal grandfather, his spouse’s father and great-grandfather all served as frontline combat infantry veterans during the Korean War. All four survived.
More than Military Genealogy
For many veterans, returning home is its own kind of battle. The experiences of war don’t end when the uniform comes off. The memories, losses, questions, and personal struggles can follow veterans long after service is complete.
Sheffield’s motivation for writing “The Veterans Day Son” goes beyond documenting an unusual family history. He wants his story to reach veterans who are still trying to make sense of what they’ve experienced, where faith is central to that message. It’s a perspective that allows the reader to explore legacy, purpose, faith, and what it means to carry the weight of service across generations.
And then there’s the detail that gives the book its name: His son was born on Veterans Day. For a family whose history has been intertwined with military service since the Revolutionary War, the timing carries a significance that’s difficult for him to overlook.
The Legacy We Leave
Military families understand that service rarely belongs to just one person. It becomes part of a family’s identity, shaping the stories that have been passed down throughout generations told around big family dinners, the sacrifices made during times of conflict, and the values passed from one generation to the next.
Sheffield’s story takes that idea to another level. One that’s personal and that countless veterans can relate to: service is sometimes an calling inherited through family culture and shared values.
His ancestors fought in wars that helped establish and preserve the country. He carried that legacy into his own Army service and his son represents the next generation. Not necessarily expected to wear a uniform, but born into a family history that will always be connected to the nation’s military story.
The book is a reminder that military service can become part of a legacy that outlives any single generation. For Tanner Sheffield, it’s his way of preserving that legacy and sharing what he believes is the greatest lesson behind it. That even through generations of war, sacrifice, and uncertainty, faith can lead us home.
Read Sheffield’s family story in “The Veterans Day Son,” a memoir about American military history, generational service, survival, and faith.
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