Engraving of Kilroy on the WWII Memorial in Washington DC.

Kilroy was here is an American popular culture expression, often seen in graffiti. Its origins are open to speculation, but recognition of it and the distinctive doodle of "Kilroy" peeking over a wall is almost ubiquitous among U.S. residents who lived during World War II through the Korean War. Kilroy Was Here is a rock opera/concept album by the rock band Styx. ... The National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial to all Americans that served in the armed forces and on the home front during World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern... Popular culture (or pop culture) is the widespread cultural elements in any given society that are perpetuated through that societys vernacular language or lingua franca. ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Doodle (disambiguation). ... -1... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The same doodle also appears in other cultures, but the character peeping over the wall is not named Kilroy but Foo, as in "Foo was here". In the United Kingdom, such graffiti is known as a "chad". In Chile, the graphic is known as a "sapo" (toad); this might refer to the character's peeping, an activity associated with frogs because of their protruding eyes. In Mexico it is known as "El Fisgon". A very similar figure is "Tosun" in Turkey. Tosun is both a les used male name and also refers to bullock. It is used as "Bunu yazan Tosun" ("Tosun wrote this") Foo was here. ... For other uses, see Toad (disambiguation). ...

Origins

The phrase appears to have originated through United States servicemen, who would draw the doodle and the text "Kilroy Was Here" on the walls or elsewhere they were stationed, encamped, or visited. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable notes that it was particularly associated with the Air Transport Command, at least when observed in the United Kingdom. Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - sometimes referred to simply as Brewers - is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions and figures, whether historical or mythical. ... The Air Transport Command was the World War II-era Army Air Corps (later Army Air Force) precursor to what became the Air Force Military Air Transport Service, then Military Airlift Command and eventually the Air Mobility Command. ...

The most widely accepted origin of "Kilroy Was Here" appears in author Timothy B. Benford's (c)1982 Harper & Row title The World War II Quiz & Fact Book, and various of his later works about the war.

One theory identifies James J. Kilroy, an American shipyard inspector, as the man behind the signature. During World War II he worked at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, where he claimed to have used the phrase to mark rivets he had checked. The builders, whose rivets J. J. Kilroy was counting, were paid depending on the number of rivets they put in. A riveter would make a chalk mark at the end of his or her shift to show where they had left off and the next riveter had started. Unscrupulous riveters discovered that, if they started work before the inspector arrived, they could receive extra pay by erasing the previous worker's chalk mark and chalking a mark farther back on the same seam, giving themselves credit for some of the previous riveter's work. J.J. Kilroy stopped this practice by writing "Kilroy was here" at the site of each chalk mark. At the time, ships were being sent out before they had been painted, so when sealed areas were opened for maintenance, soldiers found an unexplained name scrawled. Thousands of servicemen may have potentially seen his slogan on the outgoing ships and Kilroy's omnipresence and inscrutability sparked the legend. Afterwards, servicemen could have begun placing the slogan on different places and especially in new captured areas or landings. At some later point, the graffito (Chad) and slogan (Kilroy was here) must have merged. ^[1] Fore River Ship and Engine Company was a shipyard in the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country State County Norfolk County Settled 1625 Incorporated 1792 Government  - Type Mayor-council city  - Mayor William J. Phelan Area  - City  26. ...

The New York Times indicated this as the origin in 1946, based on the results of a contest conducted by the American Transit Association to establish the origin of the phenomenon. The article noted that Kilroy had marked the ships themselves as they were being built—so, at a later date, the phrase would be found chalked in places that no graffiti-artist could have reached (inside sealed hull spaces, for example), which then fed the mythical significance of the phrase—after all, if Kilroy could leave his mark there, who knew where else he could go?^[2] The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ...

Another possibility is that Kilroy was actually Richard Kilroy O'Malley, from Butte, Montana, author of "Mile High, Mile Deep" and an Associated Press correspondent during World War II who was subsequently posted in Berlin, Korea, Cyprus, Paris, North Africa and the Belgian Congo.

Author Charles Panati says: “The mischievous face and the phrase became a national joke.” He goes on to say: "The outrageousness of the graffito was not so much what it said, but where it turned up."

While the origins of the slogan are obscure, those of the cartoon are less so. It almost certainly originated as "Chad" in the UK before the war as a creation of the cartoonist George Edward Chatterton^{[citation needed]}. Presumably, the two merged together during the 1940s, with the vast influx of Americans into Britain. The "Chad" cartoon was very popular, being found across the UK with the slogan "What, no …?" or "Wot, no …?" underneath, as a satirical comment on shortages and rationing. (One sighting, on the side of a British 1st Airborne Division glider in Operation Market Garden, had the plaintive complaint "Wot, no engines?"). Later, as the country began to prosper in the 1950s and 1960s, it became a feature of some forms of advertising, especially on posters touting home improvements etc. For instance in many areas of the country outdoor toilets were the norm, so a poster might say "Wot, no inside lav?" advertising indoor plumbing. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... The British 1st Airborne Division was a military unit that fought in World War II. It suffered terrible casualties, especially in Operation Market Garden. ... Belligerents Poland United Kingdom United States Germany Commanders Field Marshal Montgomery Lieutenant-General Dempsey Lieutenant-General Horrocks Major-General Urquhart Major General Taylor Brigadier General Gavin Walter Model Wilhelm Bittrich Kurt Student Strength 35,000 (airborne only) 20,000 Casualties and losses Poland: 1st Polish Brigade: 378 Casualties[1] United... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ...

Kilroy was the most popular of his type in World War II, as well as today. Clem (Canadian), Overby (Los Angeles- late 1960s), Chad (British- WW II), and Mr. Foo (Australian- WW I & II) never reached the popularity Kilroy did. The ‘major’ Kilroy graffito fad ended in the 1950s, but today people all over the world scribble ‘Kilroy was here’ in schools, trains, and other similar public areas. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ... Foo was here. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ...

Kilroy is still known and used today by US Servicemen. He has been seen scribbled on barriers on Main Supply Routes (MSRs), inside Porta Potties at Camp Taqaddum, and on warehouses in Taji in Iraq.^{[citation needed]} Al Taqaddum Airbase (ICAO: ORAT) (a. ...

Legends

There are many urban legends attached to the Kilroy graffiti. One states that Adolf Hitler believed that Kilroy was some kind of American super spy because the graffiti kept turning up in secure Nazi installations, presumably having been actually brought on captured Allied military equipment. Another states that Stalin was the first to enter an outhouse especially built for the leaders at the Potsdam conference. Upon exiting, Stalin asked an aide: "Who is this Kilroy?" Another legend states that a German officer, having seen frequent "Kilroys" posted in different cities, told all of his men that if they happened to come across a "Kilroy" he wanted to question him personally. Another one states the entire gag was started by a soldier in the Army who was sick of the Air Force^{[dubious – discuss]} bragging that they were always the first on the scene; the little man and phrase then began appearing in ludicrous places to indicate that someone had, in fact, arrived prior to the Air Force. For other uses, see Urban legend (disambiguation). ... Hitler redirects here. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Outhouse near Crabapple Lake, Washington, United States, with wafer board walls, and a fiberglass ceiling An outhouse, (also known as a privy, kybo, jakes or earth-closet) usually refers to a type of toilet in a small structure separate from the main building which does not have a flush or... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ...

The graffiti is supposedly located on various significant or difficult-to-reach places such as on the torch of the Statue of Liberty, on the Marco Polo Bridge in China, in huts in Polynesia, on a high girder on the George Washington Bridge in New York, at the peak of Mt. Everest, on the underside of the Arc de Triomphe, scribbled in the dust on the moon, in WWII pillboxes scattered around Germany, around the sewers of Paris, and, in tribute to its origin, engraved in the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.^[3] For other monuments to freedom, see Monument of Liberty. ... The Lugou Bridge (卢沟桥/盧溝橋), also known as the Marco Polo Bridge, is a famous stone bridge located 15 km outside of Beijing. ... For the bridge in New York that crosses the Harlem River, see Washington Bridge. ... This article is about the Alpine mountain. ... This article is about the monument in Paris. ... Bunkers in Albania A bunker is a defensive military fortification. ... The National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial to all Americans that served in the armed forces and on the home front during World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ...

Another legend states that the Transit Company of America held a competition in 1946 offering a real trolley car to the man who could verify he was the "real Kilroy". J. J. Kilroy brought his co-workers with him to prove that he was undeniably the true Kilroy. The other forty or so men who showed up were not able to establish they were the "real" Kilroy. Kilroy gave his prize to his nine children to play with in their front yard. ^[4] Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In popular culture

This section does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

"Kilroy was here" turns up repeatedly in popular culture, in many different contexts. Although the Kilroy graffiti is no longer commonly seen, Kilroy is still as common as ever in popular media.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

• Tennessee Williams used the name for a character in his 1953 play Camino Real. Stage business during Scene 1 includes graffiti on a wall.
• In the 1990 novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, a line about programmer Dennis Nedry's backdoor plan to disable the park computer systems and steal dinosaur embryos reads "...And partly it was a kind of signature: Kilroy was here."
• Isaac Asimov published a fictional short story entitled "The Message" (1955) which is the story of a thirtieth-century historian named George Kilroy who travels back in time to witness historic events. It is while witnessing the first allied beach assault landings of World War II in Africa that Kilroy first leaves his mark, scratched into a shack on the beach. This short story may be found in Asimov's short story collections Earth Is Room Enough or The Complete Stories Volume 1.
• In the war movie Kelly's Heroes Captain Maitland (traveling with allied General Colt as they nearly catch up with Kelly and his gang), walks into the bank that Kelly and the soldiers have just left, taking all the gold. Once inside the bank, Maitland finds on the bank wall a painted Kilroy chad, with the addition of "Up Yours Baby!" left behind.
• In Total Drama Island, in the bathroom, on our left, Kilroy is drawn.
• Alfred Hitchcock displays the message as his own calligraphy while introducing the twenty-eighth episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).

Kilroy schematic

• The novel V. by Thomas Pynchon claims that Kilroy was originally part of a schematic for a band-pass filter.
• Robert Heinlein's early juvenile Space Cadet mentions that the first spaceship to go to Mars and return was the "Kilroy was Here".
• When the Italian comic strip Amok was first published in Sweden, its title was changed to Kilroy because of the popularity of the phrase in Sweden.^{[citation needed]} The first issue of the comic magazine Serie-Magasinet published in 1948 proudly boasted "Kilroy är här!" ("Kilroy is here!") on the cover.
• Peter Viereck's poem "KILROY" ^[5]
• The second track of The Move's self-titled 1968 debut album is titled "Kilroy Was Here".
• The rock group Styx's 1983 rock opera/concept album was entitled Kilroy Was Here, in which the narrator's name is Kilroy. The narrator refers to himself as Kilroy numerous times throughout the album. The most famous would be at the ending of the hit song, Mr. Roboto.
• The Kilroy Was Here graffiti with Kilroy peeking over is provided as a 'spray' in the popular first-person shooters Counter-Strike: Source and Day Of Defeat: Source.
• A parody graffiti, "Killjoy Was Here", is briefly shown written on the moon in the 1948 Warner Bros. cartoon "Haredevil Hare" with Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian.
• The Budapest University of Technology and Economics has a tradition called KGB (Kilroy Goes to Budapest). During the day, new students of the university visit various places all over Budapest, and perform tasks at each location, to familiarize themselves with the monuments and the mass transport facilities of the city.^{[citation needed]}
• In the Futurama episode Roswell That Ends Well, a Kilroy-style sketch of Dr. Zoidberg is scrawled on a missile along with the episode title.
• In Seymour: An Introduction, JD Salinger refers to Earth as "this splendid planet where...Kilroy, Christ, and Shakespeare all stopped".
• In J.C. Hutchins' serialized podcast audiobook series 7th Son one of the protagonists is named Killroy 2.0. During his mentally unstable ramblings he is known to utter the phrase "Killroy 2.0 is here. Killroy 2.0 is everywhere."
• In Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 the phrase appears painted on a wall on the Valhalla multiplayer map when the date is changed to Veterans Day (11 November).
• Kilroy was here is also a repeated coda that the singer Van Morrison uses to introduce at the end of his song Vanlose Stairway and others.
• In a Calvin and Hobbes comic, Calvin creates a massive snow sculpture that appears to be Kilroy peering over a hill (startling his father).
• In the M*A*S*H episode, "The Bus", Hawkeye Pierce scribbles Kilroy in the dirty glass as B.J. Hunnicutt peeps over the bus window in imitation of the graffiti head.
• In the Doctor Who episode The Invasion a "Killroy was here" graffiti is scrawled on the inside of an elevator shaft (without the figure).
• Robin Williams used the phrase "KillRoy" to refer to some women's nipples uncommonly being at the top of their breasts in his HBO stand-up comedy show.
• One of the newest episodes of Camp Lazlo shows graffiti of Killroy in the latrines.
• 'Kilroy was here' can be seen written on a wall on one of the levels of the classic Apogee game Crystal Caves.
• In Closing Time (novel) Yossarian states the phrase was everywhere.
• 'Kilroy was here!' is a brand of Australian wine from Barossa Valley.

Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), better known as Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards. ... Camino Real(pronounced: Kam-uh-no Reel) is a play by Tennessee Williams. ... See also: 1989 in literature, other events of 1990, 1991 in literature, list of years in literature. ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... For the feature film based on this book, see Jurassic Park (film). ... Michael Crichton, pronounced [1], (born October 23, 1942) is an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. ... Programming redirects here. ... The following is a list of characters from Michael Crichtons novels Jurassic Park and The Lost World. ... A backdoor in a computer system (or cryptosystem or algorithm) is a method of bypassing normal authentication or securing remote access to a computer, while attempting to remain hidden from casual inspection. ... This article is about the machine. ... For other uses, see System (disambiguation). ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... For other uses, see Embryo (disambiguation). ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), pronounced , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов [1], was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... The 30th century of the anno Domini (common) era will span the years 2901–3000 of the Gregorian calendar. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Earth Is Room Enough is a collection of short science fiction stories published by Isaac Asimov in 1957. ... Kellys Heroes is an offbeat 1970 war film about a group of enterprising World War II soldiers from the U.S. 35th Infantry Division. ... Total Drama Island is an animated series which premiered on Teletoon July 8, 2007. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 â€“ April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Alfred Hitchcock Presents was an anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. ... Killroy schematic Part of a band pass filter according to the narration of V. by Thomas Pynchon. ... Killroy schematic Part of a band pass filter according to the narration of V. by Thomas Pynchon. ... book cover V. is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon published in 1963, concerning the journey of discharged U.S. Navy sailor Benny Profane through a decadent group of artists in 1956, along with the attempt of an aging traveller named Herbert Stencil to locate the mysterious woman he knows... Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ... A schematic of the Washington Metro. ... The frequency axis of this symbolic diagram would be logarithmically scaled. ... Space Cadet is a 1948 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about Matt Dodson, who joins the Space Patrol that keeps the peace in the solar system. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Peter Viereck (1916- ), is professor emeritus of history at Mount Holyoke College, a noted poet, and influential political thinker. ... The Move were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s from Birmingham, England. ... The Move is the eponymous debut album by The Move, released on the Regal Zonophone label. ... This article is about the genre. ... Styx is an American rock band that has been popular since the 1970s, with such hits as Come Sail Away, Babe, Lady, Suite Madame Blue, Mr. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ... Kilroy Was Here is a rock opera/concept album by the rock band Styx. ... ... Day of Defeat (DoD) is a team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter computer game. ... “WB” redirects here. ... Bugs Bunny is an animated rabbit/hare who appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated films produced by Warner Bros. ... This page is about the cartoon character. ... The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (in Hungarian, Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short Műegyetem) is the most significant University of Technology in Hungary. ... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ... This article is about the television series. ... Roswell That Ends Well is the nineteenth episode of the third production season of the TV show Futurama. ... Doctor John Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien, Decapodian, in the television series Futurama. ... Jerome David Salinger (born January 1, 1919) is an American author best known for The Catcher in the Rye, a classic coming-of-age story that has enjoyed enduring popularity since its publication in 1951. ... For the Nine Inch Nails release, see Head Like a Hole. ... It has been suggested that Xbox 360 Elite be merged into this article or section. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1 â€¢ Part 2 â€¢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, inspired by the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker (penname for H. Richard Hornberger) and its sequels, but primarily by the 1970 film MASH, and influenced by the 1961 novel Catch... Captain Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce is the lead fictional character in the M*A*S*H novels, film, and television series. ... Captain B.J. Hunnicutt (played by Mike Farrell) is a fictional character in the TV show M*A*S*H, which ran from 1972-1983 on CBS. Captain Hunnicutt resided in Mill Valley, California before he was recruited to join the US Army to fight in the War. ... This article is about the television series. ... The Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from November 2 to December 21, 1968. ... Crystal Caves is a video game written and published by Apogee Software. ... Closing Time, first published in 1994, is Joseph Hellers sequel to the popular Catch-22. ... For other uses, see Wine (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Barossa Shiraz be merged into this article or section. ...

References

The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Kilroy was here

This article has been illustrated as part of WikiProject WikiWorld.

• The history of US Kilroy and UK Chad in WWII and Cold war
• The Legends of "Kilroy Was Here"
• The Straight Dope: "What's the origin of 'Kilroy was here'?"
• on the legend from snopes.com
• Badfads: "Kilroy was here!"
• Kilroy/Chad Explained
• Kilroy essay