I agree with the other poster. Don't feel like you need to make red/white/blue. My BIL said a lot of the guys like any guy type subject - football teams, hunting, fishing, computers.
My sister made a bunch of patch pillowcases for the VA hospital using my leftover flannel scraps and they really liked having choices of football, wildlife, etc.
As far as pattern, 9 patches, Irish chain, log cabin (E. burns method) all go together quite quickly.