I've got to say that for all the complaints regarding medal wearing (which I entirely agree with by the way) in my my neck of the woods, I see very little of it... and I do look for it.
I also agree with you regading the "I do it because" argument Jack, something we've discussed on a number of occasions...
The "higher calling" explanation wears thin very quickly and dosent bear close scrutiny.
"Fine sell all your kit and give the money to the British Legion then"
is usually countered with
"Well we are educating people"
Which i usually reply with the observation that if you approach 10 displays at any given event be it L/H R/E MV
8 of them will probably ignore you standing there... too busy trying to look cool, battle hardened, shell shocked or whatever...
The first time I visited W&P I was very dissapointed in the number of displays where the public were ignored rather than actively engaged. I'd stand there marvelling at the effort and authenticity these people had clearly gone to then realise nobody was prepared to approach to explain a detail to me or say what they represented, which was a shame. By all means present a scenario but without somone to explain it to you it's no more than an expensive photo opportunity... but then perhaps thats another motive...?