Video: 'American Experience Lyndon B Johnson PBS Documentary | Bertha Park' (Oct. 20, 1965, at 45:25)

(Wednesday, October 20, 1965, at around noon EDT) — In one of the more colorful moments of his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson, recovering from gall bladder surgery at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, pulled up his shirt and jacket today to show off his abdominal scar to reporters and photographers.

Although critics were appalled by the display, Johnson later said he was trying to dispel rumors that he’d actually been operated on for cancer.