I agree on the US hero statement totally. i did a little research and it appears to me that no country really acted before being forced to.
Britain and france let germany fully have some smaller countries, such as czechoslavakia, before, as you said, declaring war when poland was invaded.
(from History.co.uk) - Did you know...•In 1940, three British journalists anonymously published the book Guilty Men. It called for the removal from public office of 15 politicians and labelled appeasement as “deliberate surrender of small nations in the face of Hitler’s blatant bullying.”
and when Poland was invaded not only did russia not act but they took advantage of the situation and occupied 1/3 of poland.
(History.co.uk) - The Soviet Union – which had spent the 1930s searching for a ‘collective security’ agreement in Europe and had signed a non-aggression pact with Germany on 28 August 1939 – also profited from the invasion. On 17 September the Red Army crossed the Polish border in the east, seizing a third of all Polish territory. Some Poles fled across the border into Romania, eventually reaching the west and continuing the war as the Free Polish Forces. Warsaw finally surrendered at 2.00pm on 27 September.
and even after poland was invaded and Britain and france had declared war they didn't exactly leap into battle until they were attacked themselves.
(History.co.uk) - By May 1940, Europe had been at war for nine months. Yet Britain and France, despite having declared war on Germany in September 1939 following Hitler’s attack on Poland, had seen little real fighting. This tense period of anticipation – which came to be known as the ‘Phoney War’ – met an abrupt end on 10 May 1940, when Germany launched an invasion of France and the Low Countries.
So in summary of my evolving opinion...I agree with you that the US wasn't any more courageous than the european allies but also no less. All of those countries basically sat on their hands until the last possible moment when their country was in jeopardy and then all fought courageously for a successful outcome. I don't think the US should be beshmirched for entering late nor should they be given the label of the saviour of the war. Just another country that entered when attacked and did heroic work.
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