I went to a Catholic hs, and about a half dozen of the faculty were priests who were combat chaplains in the Army during WWII.
Great guys, but some of them were pretty hard on the outside, because they had seen carnage and more.
I remember one time a big kid took a swing at one, and the kid wound up with his head putting a dent in the locker door.
Went back a few years ago, after 40 yrs dent is still there, LOL.
I different era for sure.
I'll never forget being a kid, transplanted from liberal suburban NY into urban TX schools in the 4th grade... singing songs, in music class, with lyrics like "I am thankful to God... for allowing me to be... an American!"... along with old-time negro spirituals ("Waaaaade, in the water!")... Yeah, just a little bit of culture shock! LOL
I had a nun that could do that. She was good for a bloody nose or a black eye, and if you went home with that you got the other eye blackend.