Marvin:
The cultural bravado of persons willing to prepare themselves with firearms to use in defense of themselves and others is a natural corollary to a willingness to enter live-fire conflicts for essentially the same purpose on a larger scale.
Then the US should have been the first up to the plate, using that logic.
They weren't. If Japan had never bombed Pearl Harbour at the end of 1941, the US would never have bothered to "stand up against Hitler". Don't forget, the rest of the world had been engaged in wWW2 for over two years by the time those stalwart, gun toting Americans decided it was time to do something.
And, in WW1, the US didn't enter the conflict until 1917.
This whole discussion about gun culture in the US having a bearing on the outcome of wars in the 20th century is really misguided and ridiculous. Very ridiculous. Read a history book, please.