If you were brought up in the
forties, fifties, or sixties, you have probably seen the “Kilroy
Was Here” logo. It first started showing up all over Europe and
the Pacific during WWII. It consisted of a face with a big long
nose and two large round eyes. The nose and face were hanging
over a wall and sometimes the fingers of both hands would be
shown gripping the top of the wall. No other parts of the body
would show over the wall. The expression, “Kilroy Was Here”
would always accompany the drawing.
This logo was sometimes found by GI’s when they first entered a
newly liberated city in Europe. In WWII, GI’s
rushed to be the first to put the Kilroy logo everywhere
they landed. It would show up in the most unlikely spots and
would sometimes be found in areas that had been occupied by the
Germans or Japanese. Hitler became obsessed with the “Super GI”
who showed up in the most top secret German installations. He
became convinced that Kilroy was a super spy and could
infiltrate the most top secret German installations. He became
so obsessed with it he ordered his men to try to capture the
super spy. The logo has been found on the Arch of Triumph in
Paris, the George Washington Bridge in New York, and written in
dust on the moon. At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, a toilet
was built especially for Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin.
Stalin was the first one to use it and when he came out, he
asked an aide who Kilroy was. The American Transit Association
sponsored a radio program called, “Speak to America”. In 1946,
the Association held a nationwide contest to try to determine
who the real Kilroy was. As a result of the contest, it was
determined that the real Kilroy was none other than James J.
Kilroy of Halifax, MA. He was an inspector of the riveting
gangs in the Fore River Shipyard during WWII. He would count
the amount of rivets done by various crews and then leave
scribbled in bright yellow chalk the words, “Kilroy Was Here” on
the steel. The riveters were paid by the amount of holes
filled. By writing, “Kilroy Was Here” Jim Kilroy was proving to
his bosses that he was on the job. It also stopped unscrupulous
riveters from having the same holes counted twice and being paid
double.
Ships were leaving Quincy so fast during the war
that in many cases, Kilroy’s words and logos were never painted
over. So the logo traveled all over the world and was copied by
GI’s in every port or city they landed in.
The
American Transit Association presented to Mr. Kilroy a prize of
a 22 ton streetcar which Kilroy placed in his yard and converted
into sleeping quarters for his children.
