You might compare that German patriot to Werner von Braun, who was also a Nazi, but was glamorized by Walt Disney and promoted by the US government:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun.
And then of course, there is Benedict Arnold -- a hero in the UK and a traitor in the USA.
Perhaps people should be judged by their individual merits rather than by which government they fought for? Now, if you want to discuss individual actions, let's consider Nelson Mandela, who was idolized by the American President, Barack Obama and other leaders of the Western World, but who unquestionably committed "crimes against humanity", i.e., murder of civilians to promote his political cause.
Wars are horrible things. They cause soldiers and other citizens to fight for causes they might not themselves support (i.e., nation over self). If you doubt that, who was the better person during the American Civil War, General Lee (who never owned a slave and who emancipated the slaves he inherited) or General Grant (who not only owned slaves, but was extremely bitter when Lincoln emancipated them)?
John
PS: I think the trivialization of war, as in "war on poverty," has desensitized people to the real meaning and horror that war is. My generation saw Vietnam; my parents saw WWII. The so-called "war on poverty" (etc.) is an insult to those who died in WWII and on D Day.