Wynnewood native Gen. Tommy Franks, the retired four-star who led U.S. Central Command through the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns, is getting a fresh look in a new photo feature that tracks his long arc from small-town Oklahoma to the top tier of American military command. The feature casts Franks as both a national figure and a hometown son who helped launch a museum in southwest Oklahoma, arriving at a time when debates over the post‑9/11 wars, and how they are remembered, are still simmering across the country.
The Oklahoman's picture gallery, published today, walks back through some of the defining scenes from Franks's tenure at CENTCOM, including his 2000 selection to lead the command, the wartime briefings at CENTCOM's Tampa headquarters, and the 2001 and 2003 campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to The Oklahoman. Archival news photos are paired with recent shots of Franks at public events and exhibits tied to his leadership institute, pulling his past and present into the same frame.
From Wynnewood To Centcom
Born Tommy Ray Bentley in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, Franks enlisted in the Army in 1965 and climbed through artillery and command posts over nearly four decades before being appointed commander of U.S. Central Command in July 2000, per Wikipedia. As CENTCOM boss he became the senior U.S. military officer in charge of operations across a 25‑country region that includes much of the Middle East.
War, Briefings And A National Honor
From that post, Franks oversaw the initial U.S. campaign in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks and later directed operations that led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Those wartime roles were cited when President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in December 2004. In the administration's remarks at the ceremony, Bush said, "One of the highest distinctions of history is to be called a liberator," language used to frame both the award and Franks's public record, according to the White House press release.
After The Uniform
Franks left active duty in the summer of 2003 and shifted into public life, releasing his memoir, American Soldier, in 2004. The book lays out his account of the campaigns he helped lead and drew wide attention on publication. The memoir, along with later speaking appearances, has kept Franks in the mix in discussions of strategy and leadership, as noted on the publisher and book pages for American Soldier (HarperCollins).
Hobart Museum And Hometown Legacy
Back in Oklahoma, Franks helped create the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum in Hobart, where visitors find personal memorabilia that stretches from his Vietnam service through the Middle East campaigns, along with leadership programs for students. The museum website outlines the exhibits, public hours and the institute's educational mission, tying the national scope of his career to a small‑town civic project, per the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum.
The Oklahoman's gallery threads those chapters together, from battlefield briefings to Washington honors to the local museum displays, and offers a compact visual reminder that big pieces of national military history can have very local roots. For the complete run of photographs and captions, see the picture package from The Oklahoman.
