Saw "Kelly's Heros" and "Patton" movies, in both there was a KILROY WAS HERE with a little head.  WHat the heck was that about?

http://www.kilroywashere.org/001-Pages/01-0KilroyLegends.html

Dont know but it is one the side of the CA Friendly "Fab 10"

not sure, all i know is he's a really old dude that get around

He's on the office wall as I type

Damn doesn't anyone watch Mail Call.

I don't know.

But he was here.  

Quoted: Damn doesn't anyone watch Mail Call.

Werd!

just some grafitti that GIs used to write everywhere

He's got his own website.


http://www.kilroywashere.org/001-Pages/01-0KilroyLegends.html

well he made it on here

http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

bottom right 1/4 of it

Kilroy was here.

Was Kilroy in the PTO?

Heat 'em up n00bs!

www.kilroywashere.org/001-Pages/01-0KilroyLegends.html

I'm going with Legend #1:
This Legend of how "Kilroy was here" starts is with James J. Kilroy, a shipyard inspector during WWII. He chalked the words on bulkheads to show that he had been there and inspected the riveting in the newly constructed ship. To the troops in those ships, however, it was a complete mystery — all they knew for sure was that he had "been there first." As a joke, they began placing the graffiti wherever they (the US forces) landed or went, claiming it was already there when they arrived.

I asked my Dad about this just 2 years ago. He moved from his birth home in Quincy, and hired www.kilroymovers.com. When I laughed at the sign on the side of their truck, he told me that he worked with their father and that he was the Kilroy of "Kilroy was here" fame.

My Dad worked at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA, as did 3 uncles and just about everyone else in Quincy at the time. He started working there about 1941, when he was 16, and saw the "Kilroy was here" graffitti written in chalk. The story he told me closely matches the "Legend" above except that Kilroy wasn't an inspector, but a rivet counter. He counted the number of rivets that were installed during a work shift as the riverters were paid by the rivet. Since these counts were done during the construction of the ships, many of the areas he inspected were inside the double hull of some ships, inside fuel bunkers, even inside the ballast compartments of aircraft carriers that would be filled with concrete...places that were only accessible during construction and once done, would be sealed up.  He said that many times the yard would get inquiries about who Kilroy was from other shipyards because when they went into an area that was normally inaccessible except during repair/refit, they would find "Kilroy was here" chalked on the bulkheads and didn't understand how someone got into the space to leave graffitti. His story closely matches the story posted on www.forerivershipyard.com/historylong.php

"One of the most interesting stories to come out of the war is that of "Kilroy was here." The "Kilroy was here" phrase appeared everywhere during World War II, but its origin did not become widely known until after the war had ended. In 1946 the American Transit Association ran a contest to find out where and why the phrase originated. As it turned out, the winner was James J. Kilroy of Boston. It seems as if Kilroy was hired by Fore River shipyard on December 5, 1941 as a checker. His job was to count the rivet holes and then leave chalk marks where he had left off. It was on this basis that the riveter's piece of work was calculated. Some of the riveters were not too honest and would erase the mark left by Kilroy. Thus, some of the rivet holes were counted twice. Kilroy got wind of this devious practice and proceeded to scrawl "Kilroy was here" on his rounds. He reportedly left his mark on such famous Fore River vessels as the battleship, Massachusetts, now berthed permanently at "Battleship Cove", Fall River, Massachusetts, the Carrier, Lexington (II), and the heavy cruiser, Baltimore, as well as numerous troop carriers. In later life Kilroy became a Boston City Councillor and state representative. He died on November 26, 1962."

Dad said he knew Kilroy for about a year, before he transferred to the Hingham Yard and Ammo Depot so that he could work for his Uncle. He needed permission to enlist and Fore River shipyard wouldn't OK his enlistment in the Navy since he was a defense worker, but they would OK his transfer to another defense industry. By transferring to Hingham, he was able to get permission to enlist from his Uncle thus he began his "Duration of the War plus 90 days" enlistment.

Dad then called over the guys doing the move, and called over the supervisor. It turned out he was a son of Kilroy, who not only confirmed the story, but they continued to swap stories for the next 2 hrs while the truck was loaded.

I can't say for with absolute certainty if the story is true. I suppose both my Dad and Kilroy's sons could have both fallen for the legend, but I think I'll choose to believe it anyways. It was too interesting to listen to them talk about it.