Bobby gasped at the sting of the liquor. ‘Good God, what the hell is that?’ he queried, gazing down into the contents of his glass, where even the fumes held a certain threat.

‘Yeah, pretty lethal, isn’t it?’ Johnson agreed. ‘Grows on you though. Aussies mostly drink it with ginger ale and ice, or Coca-Cola these days, so I’m told, but I prefer it neat.’ He downed another hearty swig. ‘Got a kick like a mule.’

‘Aussies?’ Bobby was understandably baffled.

‘Yep, that’s right, Australians.’ Johnson picked up the bottle and poured himself a second slug. ‘This here’s Bundaberg Rum, all the way from Queensland, Australia,’ he said, flashing the label at Bobby. ‘It was given me as a gift when I was serving there during the war in the Pacific and I’ve been carting it around for over twenty years, just waiting for the right occasion to open it. Well, I figure that right occasion is right now and right here. Can I top you up?’ He offered the bottle.

‘No thanks,’ Bobby said hastily, rather wishing he had some Coke and ice. ‘I’ll sit on this for a while.’ His interest was piqued. What the hell is Lyndon up to, he wondered. Is he going to tell me all about his active service in the Pacific? Does he really think I believe that story?

Bobby took another tentative sip of his rum, not sure what to say by way of reply. He and Jack had often talked over the years, and always derisively, about Johnson’s military award. The Silver Star for gallantry in action had been presented to him by none other than General Douglas MacArthur himself.

‘The whole thing was a beat-up,’ Jack had confided to his younger brother. ‘I heard Lyndon volunteered as an observer on an air-strike mission to New Guinea – B-26 bombers. His aircraft wasn’t hit as reported, it turned back because of generator trouble; at least that’s what I heard. The plane never reached its objective, it never came under fire. A couple of the guys even said the official flight records showed that when their aircrafts were near the target and under fire, Johnson’s plane was recorded as having landed back at the airbase.’

To many in the know, it appeared common knowledge that, despite being in the military, Lyndon Johnson had never seen active service. But his official war record did not show that.

Bobby answered with care. ‘Jack also served in the Pacific during the war,’ he said tentatively, wondering where all this was leading.