Some Americans certainly understand. Sadly (or maybe thankfully?) a lot of them have passed on. My grandfather was in France and Germany and was so scarred by what he experienced there that he never spoke of it once to any of his 6 children or 16 grandchildren and he was a fantastic story teller. I shudder to think how he would feel about what's happened in America recently. The Europe that he risked his life for and his friends that he watched die ... all that sacrifice and good will has been discarded in a few months.