Why do men value so highly such uplifting masculine things as...?

Because deep down all men want to be heroes and be part of something great. The men who those movies portrayed were put in a situation they knew they had little chance of surviving, yet faced those odds with courage and bravery. This is a much better life lived to most of us than mundane 9-5 at some soul sucking job only to retire and be forgotten a few years down the road. No one will ever forget the men who made those sacrifices in those wars, they will live on forever.