Iâve been to the moon. Iâve been burned. But more often Iâm honored. Iâm your American flag. With 13 stars for colonies clamoring for freedom, I was first flown at Fort Stanwix in New York in 1777 and then carried into battle for the first time at Brandywine in Pennsylvania. By warâs end, I was saluted as the emblem of a sovereign nation, new and free. Iâm your American flag. But challenges lay ahead. With 15 stars and 15 stripes, I survived shell and shock at Fort McHenry in 1814. With the aid of rocketsâ red glare and bombs bursting in air, I was spied from afar at dawnâs early light by a patriot poet. I was then celebrated in sight and song by a fledging nation. Iâm your American flag.