Men dreams of being heroes from youth... and a heroic death is part of it but rarely foremost in the mind (after all, slaying dragons and saving "Damsels in Distress" for a living is much more fun then dying and never be able to do it again).
But it comes in our daydreams, then we play a heroic last stand, or a fight to the death, and be remembered for all time. Being remembered for posterity is definitely our fancy.