Am I right to be suspicious that a lot of people wearing this type of gear may not be veterans?

I suspect it may be a fashion statement for some and just jumping on the "want to look tough" bandwagon.

I personally don't do a lot to advertise that I'm a veteran. But to be fair I do have veterans plates on my car and RV, but that's mostly to draw attention away from the fact that they are Florida plates. ;)