Southwest
John Wayne's lifelong leading role as American patriot celebrated at Fort Worth museum
A legendary American actor’s love affair with the United States is retold today in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas.
John Wayne: an American Experience opened in Dec. 2020 in the Forth Worth Stockyards. The museum is devoted to the life of the legendary film star, national icon and unabashed patriot.
The museum sits in a perfect location for the performer famed for his starring roles in the biggest western films of all time, including “Fort Apache,” “El Dorado” and “Rio Bravo.”
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It faces Cowtown Coliseum, one of the nation’s premier rodeo venues, and is steps from Billy Bob’s Texas, the sprawling nightclub and live-music venue that dubs itself “The World’s Largest Honky Tonk.”
“Dad was super popular in his lifetime and he’s still popular today,” son Ethan Wayne, one of the family members who operates John Wayne Enterprises and the museum, told Fox News Digital.
“America, Why I Love Her,” was a spoken-word 1973 album by actor John Wayne. The legendary actor’s deep patriotism is celebrated at John Wayne: An American Experience in Fort Worth, Texas. The museum opened in Dec. 2020 in the Fort Worth Stockyards. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
“Every time you saw John Wayne you went on an adventure with him. But you also saw him make tough decisions and put self-respect over financial gain,” said his son. “He made moral choices rather than poor choices. Sprinkled in with those lessons, you got adventure, humor, toughness and compassion.”
Wayne wore his American heart on his sleeve with a blend of fierce toughness and deep compassion, his son said. He displayed both on movie screens around the world.
His career, perhaps unmatched, headlined half a century of films that spanned the Golden Age of Hollywood.
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Wayne was born Marion Morrison in Iowa in 1907, his father a Civil War veteran. He was raised in California.
He was a star athlete at Glendale High School, stunningly handsome and, at an imposing 6-foot-4 inches tall, earned a spot on the University of Southern California football team.
He focused on acting after injuries cut short his sports career; while just a teenager, he had already earned uncredited and extra roles.
A mural is shown at John Wayne: An American Experience, a museum in Fort Worth, Texas. “America, Why I Love Her” was a 1973 spoken-word album by the actor. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
He appeared in 36 films by age 25 — with 100 more productions to follow.
John Wayne: the American Experience lists all of them, from “Bardelys the Magnificent” in 1926, to his 1939 star-making performance in “Stagecoach” and his last film, “The Shootist,” in 1976.
Wayne died in 1979, at age 72, after battling cancer.
“You ask me why I love her? I’ve a million reasons why.”
The museum displays images and memorabilia spanning the entirety of the actor’s career, with insight into his life off the screen.
Wayne emerged as a larger-than-life entertainment figure and an American folk hero. He became a symbol of the nation itself — both here in the United States and around the world.
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The actor returned the nation’s loving embrace. At the center of John Wayne: the American Experience are displays of his patriotism.
Wayne entered the 1970s at the top of his career. He won the 1970 Academy Award for Best Actor — his first and only Oscar — playing Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 western “True Grit.”
John Wayne: An American Experience in Fort Worth, Texas, celebrates the career and the patriotism of one of the most popular actors in American history. (John Wayne Enterprises)
In 1973, he earned a Grammy nod from the recording industry for his performance in the spoken-word album of poetry, “America, Why I Love Her.”
He also released a children’s book of the same name.
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“You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I’ll explain. Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain? Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way? Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?” Wayne booms with stirring conviction in the album’s title track.
He says at the end of the poem: “You ask me why I love her? I’ve a million reasons why. My beautiful America, beneath God’s wide, wide sky.”
The Chisholm Trail ran through Fort Worth, Texas. This marker is situated between John Wayne: An American Experience and rodeo venue Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Right, a rodeo rider gets ready to compete at the Coliseum. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
The words were written by James Mitchum, brother of actor Robert, who appeared with Wayne most recently in the 1970 western “Chisum.”
But they spoke deeply of Wayne’s own heartfelt faith in the nation, its people and the unmatched opportunity it has given many millions of people around the world.
“He made that album coming out of the trials and the tribulations of the 1960s, and he believed that America was made up of all kinds of different people who all had a lot of things in common,” said Ethan Wayne.
“He believed a lot of his success was because of America and that belief really meant a lot to him.”
“Most of us came here from different backgrounds but with common goals and common dreams to be free and to pursue our own happiness,” said the son.
“You know, he came from pretty humble beginnings — but he was able to achieve an incredible amount of success. He believed a lot of his success was because of America and that belief really meant a lot to him.”
John Wayne: An American Experience recently completed a 4,000-square-foot expansion. It hosts a three-day festival later this month ending on May 26, celebrating what would have been the actor’s 117th birthday.
John Wayne: An American Experience is a museum in Fort Worth, Texas, that celebrates the life and patriotism of the legendary American actor. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Ethan Wayne believes some of his father’s perpetual popularity stems from the fact that many people see in him a personification of the United States itself.
“My father was smart, he was articulate, but he had this larger-than-life and bold personality,” the son said.
“He was very kind and loving and very gentle. But he had the capacity to be tough and violent if he needed to be. But he didn’t want to be if he didn’t have to be. He was reliable, consistent, worked hard, had a positive attitude and believed in right and wrong.”
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
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