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by wickedwillie on September 4th, 2005

wickedwillie

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What's the origin of the phrase ''kilroy was here''?

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  • by mike blair on October 7th, 2005

    mike blair

    "Kilroy was Here" came to be in World War II. Its was basically grafitti left behind by troops all over the world. "Kilroy" came to represent the omnipresence of the American military force, and as a sort of inspiration at best, or at least an inside joke among G.I.'s

    One legend has it that "Kilroy was Here" started when James J. Kilroy, a shipyard inspector during WWII, would scrawl the now famous phrase on the sides of ships in yards he had visited. The troops on these ships, not knowing what it meant, or where it came from, began leaving the same phrase, along with the signature cartoon man peeping over a wall, where ever thier duty took them. It became sort of a fun diversion to be the first to do it, and leave it to be discovered by those who came behind.

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