We have a "Walt" in our local golf club. When I joined, I was told, "Ah, you must know Blah Blah, he was a pilot in Vietnam."
The name didn't ring a bell, and it was some weeks before I met him. I asked about his 9 Sqn service, he said he was in Vietnam in (year). It still didn't fit, so I asked what pilot course he was on. Err..err.. I was a crewman gunner on Hueys. Twenty years later he got a private helicopter licence, and would take members for a gallop to stay current. He realised he was well and truly rumbled. But the story persisted, he had been in Vietnam on Hueys, and he is a pilot, ergo, he was an air force pilot.
I didn't pop his balloon to other people, just grinned and changed the subject.