Judge Aaron Cohn

The son of Jewish immigrants who fled the Russian pogroms in 1906, Aaron Cohn came of age in a close knit Jewish neighborhood in Columbus, GA. Armed with a charming personality, superior mind, and feisty athleticism, he prevailed over prejudice to become a respected leader in his home town and at the University of Georgia. Through the years his gratitude to the nation that sheltered his family never dimmed. As a major in the 3d Cavalry, the spearhead of XX Corps, he fought his way from Normandy across France and broke through German defenses at Metz as the Nazi army retreated. He liberated a concentration camp in Austria. After the war Cohn worked as a lawyer, coached children, and stood for religious tolerance and civil rights. When he became a juvenile court judge in 1965, his love of children and his drive to help the underdog dovetailed into one long, rewarding career. Today Cohn is America's longest-serving juvenile court judge and his city's most beloved citizen.