Roy Cohn, SOB

During the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, Cohn was testifying on the stand and he used the moment to pay tribute to Tailgunner Joe. Afterward we were standing outside the Senate Caucus Room when we were approached by a little old lady. And she really was just that. This tiny little woman with white hair, wearing tennis shoes, with tears coming from her eyes.

“Oh, Mr. Cohn, ” she said “I just couldn’t believe your wonderful tribute to the senator. It meant so much to me.”

Cohn turned to me—although she was standing right there—with that cold look he had. “I almost believed it myself” he said. She looked like she had been hit with a whip, and l said to him: “You dirty SOB”.

—William Manchester