Unlike in the dim and distant past when you might have had to forage

[EngLearner]

Unlike in the dim and distant past when you might have had to forage for food in the jungle, nowadays you just go to the nearby grocery store to get what you want, and you can be in and out in minutes.

The above sentence is from another thread. In that thread, the bolded "had" is not included. I wonder if it's natural both with and without it.

 

[jutfrank]

It has nothing to do with naturalness. The bolded had is the past participle of the semi-auxiliary 'have to', used here to express necessity.

Whoever wrote that (@Tarheel?) forgot to include the necessary word.

 

[EngLearner]

Whoever wrote that (@Tarheel?) forgot to include the necessary word.

Do you mean that the necessary word is the bolded "had", and that it shouldn't be omitted?

 

[jutfrank]

For a past meaning, yes, it shouldn't be omitted.