My oldest was 17 when DH died (he was her stepfather, her father died before she ever got a chance to meet him) and she was generally the catalyst for his more violent outbursts. My son was only 10 and doesn't remember and/or wasn't present for these outbursts; because of this, my son and my daughter have very different memories of the same man.
After every incident, the docs at the VA would increase his medication and we would have a year or two of relative peace before the next incident. The last incident resulted in an overnight stay courtesy of the county sheriff and anger management classes for him and a 6 week stay at a barely tolerable one-room studio with only a mini-fridge and hot plate for a kitchen for myself and my daughter. There is a part of me that is relieved that the inevitable escalation has been permanently averted...but at such a high cost.
My son will eventually learn the truth that his father was far from perfect; chances are good that he will hear it from his sister and probably sooner than I would like, but she has managed to hold her tongue for now. When he begins to ask me questions about his Dad's issues, I will tell him the truth: that he was a good man that was forced to survive under horrific conditions at the tender age of 19, and his experiences permanently changed how he related to others...and not for the better.