Point, when American soldier’s on the way (4)
I believe the answer is:
gist
'point' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'american soldier's on the way' is the wordplay.
'american soldier' becomes 'gi'.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the way' becomes 'st' ().
'gi'+'st'='GIST'
'when' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for gist that I've seen before include "Substance of an argument" , "Substance or general idea" , "Essential point or meaning of, say, the matter" , "Central meaning or theme" , "Basic meaning" .)