Help a soldier to guard place in Texas (6)

I believe the answer is:

elpaso

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'in texas' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'help a soldier to guard' is the wordplay.
'to guard' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (I've seen 'guards' mean this).
'ELPASO' is hidden in the letters of 'help a soldier'.

'place' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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