You do know CERN had a working network of computers years before ARPANET, right?
OK, modern internet is largely American accomplishment, but the tech itself is not. Same thing as with the cars: Karl Benz built his automobile in 1885, yet most Americans still credit Henry Ford for his 1914 accomplishment, only because he used the brand new invention to build his cars: the assembly li... oh wait, that was also in use since 1902 by Olds in the Oldsmobile factory.
Americans rarely invent things. They just know damn well how to use them.