An American Soldier Setting & Symbolism

An American Soldier Objects/Places

Stratford, Oklahoma

This is a small town in a rural area where Tommy Franks spends his early childhood.

Midland, Texas

Midland in the 1950s was a small city, wealthy with oil money, where Tommy finishes grammar school and high school. Midland is also the hometown of both President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura.

Delta Upsilon

Franks is a member of this fraternity at the University of Texas, where he flunks out in his sophomore year.

Crypto-Analyst

After Basic Training, Franks enrolls in an Army school in 1965 that teaches how to break codes and therefore becomes a "crypto-analyst."

Bien Hoa

Franks is shipped to Bien Hoa Air Force Base in Viet Nam after taking jungle training in Panama.

Mad Minute

Every night at sundown where Franks is stationed in Viet Nam, the Americans fired guns to test them and warn the Vietcong.

ARCENT

ARCENT is an acronym for Army Forces, Central Command. It is the Army component of COMCENT. Franks...
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