From Algebra to Afghanistan

About the Book

On 9/11 college mathematics instructor Franke Gracia watched the towers fall. On 9/12 he hung on every word of the news reports of the attacks. On 9/13 he placed a phone call to St. Louis, Missouri, because that is where all records are kept for former military officers. Gracia informed St. Louis, “My bags are packed, I just need orders.” After initial setbacks and delays, he was finally called to active duty and served a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. Captain Franke Gracia served in a key leadership position with an Infantry Task Force consisting of more than 700 soldiers. While serving, from time to time, he would sit down and write, partly to chronicle his experience, but mostly for the therapy it provided. This book contains those writings. The author is not a professional soldier or war correspondent, but rather an ordinary citizen-soldier who volunteered to serve. This book contains Captain Gracia’s musings, observations, frustrations, joys, sorrows, anguish, anger, resentment, bewilderment, humor, exasperation and pride – the captured thoughts of an ordinary American soldier serving in a war zone.

About the Author

Franke Gracia was born in Brownsville, Texas, and grew up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. He holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in mathematics from the University of Texas – Pan American. He is a faculty member of the mathematics department at Temple College in Temple, Texas.