Flag of the day! Hardware store on 1st Ave, Manhattan on June 13, 2026. America 250 🇺🇸 #America250 American Pride!

🇺🇸 Most Badass Football Players: Combat Veterans Edition #7 Alejandro Villanueva Alejandro Villanueva, an Army Ranger and two time Pro Bowler, was one badass football player. Born in 1988 and raised in a military family, Villanueva attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he primarily played offensive tackle for the Army Black Knights. After graduating in 2010 and being commissioned as an infantry officer, he served with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. During his first deployment to Afghanistan as a rifle platoon leader, Villanueva’s unit responded to a call involving a local teacher who had opened fire on Taliban fighters near a mosque. As they moved in, the platoon walked into a heavy Taliban ambush. One of his soldiers, Pfc. Jesse Dietrich, was shot near the armpit. While under intense enemy fire, Villanueva pulled the wounded Dietrich down an alley and into a second mosque so a medic could begin treating him. He then returned to the fight. Later, when the medic told him the wounded needed to be moved to a safer location for medevac, Villanueva personally carried another injured soldier on his shoulders through the danger zone to a nearby school, where they waited for a helicopter. Despite these efforts, Dietrich tragically died of his wounds on the helicopter. The loss deeply affected him. For his actions in rescuing wounded soldiers while under enemy fire, Villanueva was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” for valor in combat. He had earned his Ranger tab and served two additional tours in Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Many of those operations remain classified. He was also awarded a second Bronze Star for service. After nearly five years of active duty and three combat deployments, Villanueva left the Army as a captain to pursue a career in the NFL. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he became one of the league’s most reliable left tackles. During his time with the NFL, he started over 100 games and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice, in 2017 and 2018. Alejandro Villanueva is an American Badass. Thank you, Captain! 🫡🇺🇸

If not for the overuse, he might still be pitching today. ;)

The Mets couldn't even escape criticism during the NBA FInals. awfulannouncing.com/mlb/chri…

Americana!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Indiana deserves more attention! One of the best sitcoms ever … The Middle! Based in the fictional town of Orson, IN (my wife says it’s just like Columbus) a fun show about a regular, American family. Americana at its tv finest! 🇺🇸 youtu.be/vVmTxRQC4dE?is=nUYT…

🇺🇸 The 50 star American flag flying today was designed in 1958 by 17 year old Robert G. Heft as a high school class project. He got a B-minus on it. The teacher claimed the design "lacked originality" and jokingly remarked that if Heft didn't like the grade, he should get the flag accepted in Washington. Heft called his teacher's bluff. He sent his physical prototype to his congressman, Walter Moeller, who forwarded it to the design pool. Out of more than 1,500 submissions, President Eisenhower picked his design. His teacher later changed his grade to an A. Thank you, Robert! The flag is beautiful! 🇺🇸

1/2🧵 🇺🇸The James Abbey Diary 🇺🇸 🥶🧊ICE BUCKETS FROZEN IN JUNE!!🧊🥶 James Abbey was a real-life pioneer, one year late for the '49 Gold Rush. (Far more people actually made the trek in 1850). This is his story. -- The Abbey wagon train is now in South Pass, 8 days west of Casper Wyoming. 2 miles from the Continental Divide -- Despite the cold, (a June freeze) the pioneers are not disheartened. They made the most of it. -- Abbey's diary notes "It being a beautiful night, we concluded to go through the pass by moonlight." -- By contrast today's forecast (6/15/2026) for South Pass is High-70° Low-45° (His full, brief, diary entry for this day in 1850 appears below.)

Waffle House! American institution which we gladly, proudly share.

Indiana is the heart of Americana! And John Mellencamp knows all about it. youtu.be/0CVLVaBECuc?is=9fXf…

This is Jerusalem. Ancient stones, living faith, and sunsets that feel like divine light.

Expulsion: Moon and Firelight - Thomas Cole

🇺🇸 Double Shot of Badass Americans: William J. Crawford He was a janitor at the Air Force Academy for many years. The cadets who passed him every day had no idea they were walking among a living legend. Born in Pueblo, Colorado in 1918, Crawford was drafted into the Army in July 1942. By September 1943 he was serving as a Private and squad scout with Company I, 3rd Platoon, 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division in southern Italy. On September 13, 1943, his platoon attacked German positions on Hill 424 near Altavilla. After reaching the crest, they were immediately pinned down by machine gun and small arms fire from multiple enemy positions. Without orders and completely on his own, Crawford moved forward alone under heavy fire. He first located one machine gun dug in on a terrace directly in front of the platoon. He crawled through open ground under fire, closed to within a few yards of the emplacement, destroyed the gun with a hand grenade, and killed three of the crew. He kept going. Crawford spotted a second machine gun position firing on his men. Again moving alone and exposed, he advanced on the crew under fire. When he got close enough, he threw a grenade, destroyed the gun, and eliminated the crew. He still wasn't finished. He located a third German machine gun that was continuing to pin down his unit. Once more he advanced alone through enemy fire, closed on the position, killed one of the Germans with rifle fire. Two other Germans who were there fled. Crawford, the badass he was, grabbed the German machine gun, turned it around, and fired on them as they were running down the hill. Crawford had single handedly taken out all three machine gun nests that were holding up his entire platoon. A few days later he was captured by the Germans. His fellow soldiers thought he had been killed. He would spend the next 19 months as a prisoner of war. Because the Army believed he was KIA, the Medal of Honor for his actions was awarded posthumously and presented to his father in 1944. When the war ended and Crawford was returned home, he had technically already received the nation’s highest award, but he was never formally presented with it. He would stay in the military until the 1960's, retiring as a Master Sergeant. He then took a quiet job as a janitor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. For many years he mopped floors and cleaned the cadet squadrons without ever mentioning his service. Thousands of cadets passed by him over the years without the slightest clue. Then, in the late 1970s, a cadet was reading a book about the Allied campaign in Italy and stumbled upon his name. He asked the janitor about it. Crawford simply replied, “That was one day in my life and it happened a long time ago.” They were shocked to find out their janitor was that same person. The cadets spread the word and helped arrange for him to have the recognition he deserved. On May 30, 1984, nearly 41 years after his actions, President Reagan personally awarded Master Sergeant William J. Crawford his Medal of Honor during the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony. William J. Crawford is an American Badass 🇺🇸

From the hands that first stitched it to the hearts that still stand for it today, may it forever wave. Happy Flag Day!

Great song!! Great flag! 🇺🇸 x.com/bbherodotus/status/206…

Flag day should never be overlooked! 🇺🇸 I have posted 14 “flag of the day” pics so far, all ones I have taken myself. I do love this 15 star flag! Notice that in this era the number of stripes matched the number of stars which matched the number of states.

🇺🇸 Happy Flag Day Find someone who loves you like Rick Monday loves his flag. On April 25, 1976, while playing outfield for the Chicago Cubs as a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran, Rick Monday saw two protesters soak the American flag in lighter fluid, ready to burn it. He didn’t hesitate. He sprinted in, grabbed the flag, and carried it to safety. One of the most American moments in baseball history. Thank you, Rick Monday, for honoring our flag. 🫡🇺🇸

Happy Flag Day! #FlagDay I took this on a trip to the natural science museum with my granddaughter on May 30, 2026. Fun day and my first Flag of the day. 🇺🇸

🇺🇸TODAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY🇺🇸 On June 14, 1927, George Washington Carver received a U.S. patent for his process of producing vegetable-based paints and stains. Born into slavery in Missouri around 1864, Carver overcame enormous obstacles to become one of America’s greatest agricultural scientists. After earning degrees from Iowa State, he spent decades at Tuskegee Institute teaching poor Southern farmers how to restore their worn-out soil. He championed crop rotation with peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, then went to work finding new uses for those crops. Over his career he developed hundreds of products from them yet Carver only ever took out three patents in his lifetime. He believed his discoveries belonged to the public, especially struggling farmers trying to build better lives. A true American tinkerer and genius who turned “useless” crops into opportunity.

1/2🧵 🇺🇸TODAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY🇺🇸 American settlers in California launched the Bear Flag Revolt. A group of about 30 men, led by Ezekiel Merritt and William B. Ide, marched on a lightly defended Mexican outpost at Sonoma. They captured it without firing a shot, placed General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (who also favored American annexation), under house arrest and raised a homemade flag featuring a grizzly bear and a lone red star. The rebels declared the independent Republic of California. It was the ninth Mexican province or territory in 25 years to rise up against Mexico City’s unstable rule. (more)