Without in any way minimising the skill or heroism of the crews, I think it would be worth remembering that even in the immediate aftermath the RAF recognised that the good Public Relations generated by the raid were as significant as its military effect. Gibson was sent on lecture tours, including to the USA, and the legend was built up by the book and then the film and by commemorations to an extent that the survivors of the Main Force squadrons rather resented. The dog and it’s dubious surviving grave became part of that legend. So, if we accept that
PR is a significant part of the whole 617 Sqn “thing”, why would we use it to offend a large portion of the modern public by publicising what is NOW an offensive word.