You can thank Lorraine for this one

Lorraine posited a question, to which I had to find the answer. The question was, "how many sons of presidents have been to war?" This question comes on the heels of the announcement that Prince Harry is going to Iraq. So, I googled a bit, wiki'd a bit, and here's what I've learned thus far. Pretty interesting stuff, and I may have to do further research on the older presidents to find out about their kids. What was interesting is that a lot of the presidents had no children, or only girls, and a lot of the kids died young "in the olden days", so the lack of a president's child being listed below doesn't mean his kid didn't serve in a war - it might mean they had no sons, or that their sons died young, or that there were no wars during the years their children would have typically served. So, here goes:

• President John Tyler's son, David Gardiner Tyler, fought in Civil War for the Confederate Army.
• President Zachary Taylor's son, Richard Taylor was a Confederate general in the Civil War
• President Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, served in the Civil War.
• President Ulysses S. Grant's son, Frederick Dent Grant, fought in civil war alongside his father. He went to West Point, graduated in 1871, was in the military until 1881. He fought in the Bannock War in 1878, and in the fight against Victorio in New Mexico. In 1898, he went back into the army, and served as colonel in the Spanish-American War. He fought in the Philippine-American war for three years, and was in the army until his death in 1912.
• President Rutherford B. Hayes' son, Webb Hayes, served during the Spanish-American war, was wounded during the crossing of the San Juan River and the assault on San Juan Hill, and again in the invasion of Puerto Rico. He was awarded Medal of Honor for actions in the Philippines. He also served in WW1.
• President Theodore Roosevelt's son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr, served in WWI as a major. He led his battalion in combat. All the Roosevelt sons served in the military. Teddy Jr. served in WWII, led troops during D-Day landings, and died of heart attack one month after Utah Beach landing.
• President Theodore Roosevelt's son, Kermit Roosevelt, served in WWI and WWII with the British Army and the US Army.
• President Theodore Roosevelt's son, Archibald Roosevelt, served in WWI and was wounded and discharged with full disability. He tried to join the Army again for WWII, but was turned down due to his age (48) and disability. He pleaded with FDR to intervene, which he did. He was given a commission as a Lt. Colonel, and commanded the 162nd Infantry. He was wounded again, and earned the Silver Star during combat in the Pacific Theater. He is the only American ever to be classified as 100% disabled twice, and the only serviceman retired on full disability from both world wars.
• President Theodore Roosevelt's son, Quentin Roosevelt, fought with the Army Air Service. He was shot down behind German lines in France. The Germans buried him with full battlefield honors.
• President William H. Taft's son, Robert A. Taft, wanted to serve, but was rejected by army for poor eyesight.
• President William H. Taft's son, Charles Phelps Taft II, dropped out of Yale in order to serve in the US Army during WWI.
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's son, James Roosevelt, was 2nd in command of the 2nd Raider Battalion of the Marine Raiders during WWII. He retired as Brigadier General, and earned the Navy Cross and Silver Star.
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's son, Elliott Roosevelt, was an Army photo reconnaissance pilot during WWII, and played a key role in D-Day landings.
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's son, John Aspinwall Roosevelt, served in the Navy from 1941-1946 during WWII. He received the Bronze Star.
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower's son, John Eisenhower, served in the Army during WWII and the Korean War. He attained rank of Brigadier General.
• President Jimmy Carter's son, Jack Carter, enlisted in the Navy at his father's suggestion. He served in Vietnam on a salvage ship.

And if you're curious as to the military service of our presidents, including wartime service, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_military_service

So, that's your history lesson for today.