Autographs of Joe McCarthy

Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in the United States in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread communist subversion. He alleged that numerous communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the United States federal government, universities, film industry, and elsewhere. Ultimately he was censured by the Senate in 1954 for refusing to cooperate with and abusing members of the committee established to investigate whether or not he should be censured. The term "McCarthyism", coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today the term is used more broadly to mean demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.
Born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, McCarthy commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1942, where he served as an intelligence briefing officer for a dive bomber squadron. Following the end of World War II, he attained the rank of major. He volunteered to fly twelve combat missions as a gunner-observer. These missions were generally safe, and after one where he was allowed to shoot as much ammunition as he wanted, mainly at coconut trees, he acquired the nickname "Tail-Gunner Joe". Some of his claims of heroism were later shown to be exaggerated or falsified, leading many of his critics to use "Tail-Gunner Joe" as a term of mockery.
A Democrat until 1944, McCarthy successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1946 as a Republican, narrowly defeating incumbent Robert M. La Follette Jr. in the Wisconsin Republican primary, then Democratic challenger Howard McMurray by a 61% – 37% margin. After three largely undistinguished years in the Senate, McCarthy rose suddenly to national fame in February 1950 when he asserted in a speech that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring" who were employed in the State Department. In succeeding years after his 1950 speech, McCarthy made additional accusations of Communist infiltration into the State Department, the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the Voice of America, and the U.S. Army. He also used various charges of communism, communist sympathies, disloyalty, or sex crimes to attack a number of politicians and other individuals inside and outside of government. This included a concurrent "Lavender Scare" against suspected homosexuals, whose illicit sexual activity was presumed to make them vulnerable to blackmail by communists and others.
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Current items with a signature of Joe McCarthy

These are the most current items with a signature of Joe McCarthy that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.

Picture	Item Title	Price	Store
	Dams Raid Pilot JOE McCARTHY DSO DFC* Signed DAMBUSTERS 50th Ann Cover	£172.94
	Dams Raid Pilot JOE McCARTHY DSO DFC* Signed DAMBUSTERS 50th Ann Cover	£172.94

Traded items with a signature of Joe McCarthy

The most expensive item with a signature of Joe McCarthy (Chicago Cubs Joe McCarthy PSA Slab Signed 8x10 Photo Vintage Autograph Manager) was sold in March 2026 for £1,208.75 while the cheapest item (Joe McCarthy - Ireland And British Lions Rugby Signed Card) found a new owner for £6.81 in May 2025. The month with the most items sold (3) was September 2025 with an average selling price of £165.34 for an autographed item of Joe McCarthy. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in May 2022 with £410.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with £41.55 was October 2020. In average, an autographed item from Joe McCarthy is worth £102.00.

Most recently, these items with a signature of Joe McCarthy were sold on eBay - click here for more items.

Picture	Item Title	Price	Store
	1993 Ltd Ed UK WW2 RAF 617 Ace Dam Busters Signed Flight Cover - Joe McCarthy	£97.00
	1993 Ltd Ed UK WW2 RAF 617 Ace Dam Busters Signed Flight Cover - Joe McCarthy	£97.00
	1996 Classic Aircraft cover signed J C Joe McCarthy Pilot-Dams Raid. 1 of 25	£89.89
	DAMBUSTER J.C (JOE) McCARTHY SIGNED 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAMS RAID COVER	£220.00
	DAMBUSTER J.C (JOE) McCARTHY SIGNED 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAMS RAID COVER	£220.00
	Dams Raid Pilot JOE McCARTHY DSO DFC* Signed DAMBUSTERS Anniversary Cover	£202.94
	Dams Raid Pilot JOE McCARTHY DSO DFC* Signed DAMBUSTERS Anniversary Cover	£202.94
	Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron Dambuster Dams Raid Chastise Signed Cover	£165.34
	Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron Dambuster Dams Raid Chastise Signed Cover	£165.34
	Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron Dambuster Dams Raid Chastise Signed Cover	£165.34
	Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron Dambuster Dams Raid Chastise Signed Cover	£165.34
	Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron Dambuster Dams Raid Chastise Signed Cover	£165.34
	Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron Dambuster Dams Raid Chastise Signed Cover	£165.34
	WW2 Dambuster Joe McCarthy RARE signed limited edition 1987 44th ann RAF cover	£131.54
	WW2 Dambuster Joe McCarthy RARE signed limited edition 1987 44th ann RAF cover	£131.54