This is an example of actual events that are far more interesting than most WWII movies. I fear that scientists today just aren't that cool. That said, I'm not sure I would want to face similar calamity.
I prefer to think that we live in times that are less interesting (in the Chinese proverb sense) and that demand less derring-do and intrigue of our scientists.
I'm sure that if a portal opened up and parallel-universe-Nazis-lizards (or whatever) began to invade, we'd see just as much heroism and inventiveness from everyone.
Most stuff that's "cool" to a general audience is illegal, prohibited in the name of "safety," or so far outside one's job description as to comprise some ethical violation (which are roughly equivalent to Catholic sins). So, we don't talk very much to outsiders, or impose a cooling-off period of several years/several jobs before talking.
> I fear that scientists today just aren't that cool.
That's a nice story, but there's nothing really in it that would justify it to be "cooler" than anything else. I find the history of actual inventions or discoveries much cooler than war anecdotes.
