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Frankie’s father, Connor McGrath, is a businessman and the head of his prominent Californian family. He sees himself as the guardian of the McGrath military tradition. He’s enormously proud of the McGrath history, while also trying to hide his insecurities about his own lack of service. Connor couldn’t perform military service himself, as he was disqualified for medical reasons. Instead, he focuses on building a successful real estate business and on preparing his son Finley to serve the US’s military interests in the way he could not. He also talks a lot about his financial contributions to veterans and the obligation for parents to teach their children the value of military legacy. Despite this, everyone around him sees that he is using his financial clout to compensate for his inability to serve.
Because of these conservative views and his own stubbornness, Connor and Frankie clash frequently, especially over her decision to enlist as a nurse in Vietnam. Connor is dismayed at Frankie’s insistence on joining the armed forces. This is partially because Finley died shortly after arriving in Vietnam, but also because he views military service as a man’s responsibility and dismisses Frankie ability to do meaningful work. He wants to hide Frankie’s military career from anyone who knows him. Indeed, upon his daughter’s return to Coronado, Frankie finds out that her parents have been lying to their family friends about her going to Vietnam, telling them she studied abroad instead. His dismissal of her contributions makes Frankie feel she isn’t appreciated anywhere, and that all the hard work she’s done is for nothing. While her brother’s picture hangs on the “hero’s wall” of military portraits her father keeps, he repeatedly refuses to include Frankie; no women are allowed. Connor’s refusal to listen to her stories and his dismissal of Frankie’s sacrifices mirror societal attitudes toward women veterans at the time. Like everyone else Frankie meets at home in California, Connor is uncomfortable with the very idea that women were involved in the war in Vietnam. He treats Frankie’s trauma as a trivial inconvenience until it’s almost too late.
After Frankie’s overdose, Connor eventually admits guilt for the way he treated his daughter. When he explains that Bette—his wife and Frankie’s mother— had insisted they make sure Frankie had a home to live in and renovate the cottage for her, he is making an effort to address his shortcomings and reconnect with his daughter. By eventually including her in the “hero’s wall,” Connor is making a concession to Frankie’s needs. It’s no public war memorial, but it is intended to show he places some value on everything she gave up in order to serve. In general, Connor’s character shows the pressures of upholding traditional ideals. He’s constantly in conflict with the difficulty of reconciling expectations—of his children, of his friends, of his country— with reality. Although his understanding of Frankie comes late, it demonstrates his desire to support her military sacrifice. He loves his daughter, even if her life doesn’t conform to his expectations.
