I have limited knowledge of my background, only what my father told me. He retired from the British Army 5 years ago as a Major in the Royals Signals. He fought in the Falklands, and first Iraq war, and was also in the second Iraq war as part of the peace keeping force. In all his time the only person he shot at and killed was in that final tour, after discovering Iraq soldiers raping a girl and her mother in one of the refuge camps. He always went around with 2 soldiers as support and security. When this happened, there were 4 of them. He tried to tell them to stop but they pulled out weapons. My father killed the leader with a Browning pistol, and the 2 soldiers killed the remaining three with automatic rifles (SA 80).
It wasn't until I was 25 years old, he would ever tell me of his tours of combat, and I can understand why.
The only other knowledge I have of family in combat is my (and I can't remember if it was great or great, great) great uncle fought against the Zulus, and I have his canteen as a souvenir.