A bit of mixed emotions for somebody who is just existing by accident, because my grandma was one of the few survivers when the eder-dam tsunami washed away the whole village killing thousands...
Definitively "courageous young men", and they did not start the fire, but "the tale" is more than aviation, it is also about collateral damage.
It may not have been the main idea (who knows for sure?), but man-made-tsunamis from busted dams are very effective weapons of mass destruction...
It was a very moving moment for me to visit the Canberra war memorial in december 2004 just days after the tsunami desaster, and to see the dambusters exhibits there.