Kilroy Was Here
You might have noticed in your browser tab, when you’re here at VETS.COM, a little yellow icon. The icon looks like a mix between a little yellow pac-man ghost and an Arizona cactus. If you make that image slightly bigger it becomes more recognizable as the most ubiquitous GI of WWII. Who, of course, is best known for the phrase “Kilroy was here”. But where did he come from? The origin is a bit of a mystery.
Who was Kilroy?
Although no one knows the exact origin of the phrase “Kilroy Was Here” there are several theories. The one I find most believable is that it was created indirectly by shipyard inspector James J. Kilroy. According to the story he scrawled it on every single piece of equipment he inspected. This sounds like just the thing a soldier would see, carry into theater, and scratch down as a graffiti to throw a jab at the chain of command. It was, after all, a mark that the area had been inspected. But in all fairness even that origin story is unconfirmed and the myth of Kilroy is stronger than the substance.
Why the Long Face?
That might explain the origin of the phrase but not necessarily the cartoonish drawing accompanying it. Unfortunately, it seems that the accompanying drawing of Kilroy is also unclear but is almost certainly European in origin. The original drawing is frequently accredited to British cartoonist George Edward Chatterton, 1938 and Kilroy’s original name at that time was most likely Chad.
Chad was a piece of graffiti that was often accompanied by a phrase showing surprise at certain things not being present. He was most prevalent within Europe during rationing and food shortages with phrases like “Wot, no bread?”
The image of “Chad” and the phrase “Kilroy Was Here” eventually merged during WWII when Chad became Kilroy. To learn more about his history I encourage you to read the Kilroy Was Here article on wikipedia.org
Why does VETS.COM use it?
Originally the VETS.COM website used Kilroy in different places around the website and in particular for the “Vets Top 50 List”. This was a list deemed as the Top 50 veteran related websites back when the internet was in its wild west phase. Back when the use of webrings and site lists were the main sources of spreading info… In other words, before Google. Megan Napier originally redrew the design for Kilroy that VETS.COM would soon after use so I asked her how it came about that she chose Kilroy’s image for the website:
It was a while back [when] my father, Charles Napier, decided to use the Kilroy image I drew on Vets.com. I can’t remember how I learned about the story of “Kilroy was here”. It was either from my dad or from watching all the short military history clips on AFKN growing up…or both.
Mainly, I remember having fun using the Paint program in Windows and wanting to help my dad with the website. Maybe he thought having my drawing of Kilroy added a fun touch to say that “Kilroy was here” at VETS.COM.
And “Kilroy was here” is indeed a fun bit of trivia to know about World War II. I hope that whenever you see Kilroy, whether here at VETS.COM or elsewhere, it will bring a little chuckle to your day!
Megan Napier Carroll
No matter what Kilroy’s origin story is, he is one of the lighter hearted parts of military history and is why “Kilroy is still here” at VETS.COM
