Though I agree with you about the children, me and my sis made it out fairly unscathed and turned our respect back to our mother, albeit later down the road. Father can rot in hell for all I care but at least mom came back to earth once she was rid of him.
My old man was a war hero and a great coach that taught me a lot but he definitely had no problem pounding on me and my girls. Some days were like armageddon. I would stand in lots of times and just take it so he wouldn't go off on them.