All the years I saw Mr. Boyington at the Reno Air Races, he either wore khakis or a blue leisure shirt/khaki combo. He usually was next to "The Jap who shot him down", as we refered to it, in the day. It was strained at times, between the two. I witnessed a heated argument one time about the "facts" between the two. This was just after the TV series took off. It probably was more about sales than reality, I would believe in retrospect.
He was always crusty, and brooked no nonsense about wearing wings, jackets and such from "fans". I imagine like so many personas, the same question or variation thereoff, got rather old very quickly. I did get a copy of Baa, Baa, signed by him. I think it was the year before he died. He was a harcore drinker, even up to the end and it showed.
Reno was always fun. I recall seeing Gordon Cooper with Deke Slayton together on the ramp, the year before Mr. Slayton passed. Alot of Nevada memories.