| 100% | KSU | 3 | Sch. Drew Carey went to before he joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve in '80 (abbr.) |
| 30% | PFC | 3 | Rank in United States Marine Corps approve Private (abbr) |
| 26% | ONEAL | 5 | He joined the 52-Across in 2004 |
| 26% | HEAVEHO | 7 | Words before and after "my lads" in the United States Merchant Marine anthem |
| 26% | CORPS | 5 | United States Marine ___, maritime land force seen in the movie "A Few Good Men" (anagram of "crops") |
| 26% | AJAX | 4 | He duels Hector to a draw in the Illiad |
| 25% | ELMO | 4 | He became the first puppet to testify before Congress in 2002 |
| 25% | ALA | 3 | State that elected Doug Jones to the Senate in December 2017: Abbr. |
| 24% | ARTCLASS | 8 | Course in which students often go back to the drawing board? |
| 24% | CONN | 4 | Fifth state to join the Union: Abbr. |
| 24% | ELNORTE | 7 | The United States, to Mexicans |
| 24% | ELNORTE | 7 | The United States, to Central Americans |
| 24% | PFC | 3 | Low rank in the Marine Corps: Abbr. |
| 24% | ELNORTE | 7 | The United States, to some prospective immigrants |
| 24% | ONENATION | 9 | The United States, in a familiar pledge |
| 24% | AMER | 4 | From the United States: Abbr. |
| 24% | ALANALDA | 8 | He played the president of the United States in Canadian Bacon (1995) |
| 24% | SMITH | 5 | Most common surname in the United States, according to the 2010 census |
| 23% | ALA | 3 | "To the" in French, goes before mode |
| 23% | ALA | 3 | "To the" in French, goes before "mode" |
| 23% | ANO | 3 | "I went to the event, but he was ___-show": 2 wds. |
| 23% | SOUSA | 5 | United States Marine Band director from 1880 to 1892 |
| 23% | DDE | 3 | 34th President of the United States: Abbr. |
| 23% | FDR | 3 | 32nd President of the United States: Abbr. |
| 23% | NRA | 3 | Designation for a protected area in the United States: Abbr. |
| 23% | AMORE | 5 | "We the people of the United States, in order to form ___ perfect union ...": 2 wds. |
| 23% | RASSLE | 6 | Go to the mat, in dialect |
| 22% | NEWPORT | 7 | City in Rhode Island home to the United States Naval War College |
| 22% | FBI | 3 | Domestic intelligence and security service of the United States: Abbr. |
| 22% | WASHINGTON | 10 | 1st President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 |