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How 'Kilroy Was Here' Changed the World
Live Science ^ | Sep 15, 2008 | Heather Whipps

Posted on 09/16/2008 5:24:40 AM PDT by decimon

Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today.

Long before the Internet made viral marketing a cinch, one long-nosed little character named Kilroy made his way around the world the old-fashioned way, becoming a legend among the millions of military men and women who served during World War II.

The rudimentary doodle, which featured a balding head peering over a wall along with the tag "Kilroy Was Here," popped up in unexpected places across all of the theaters of war visited by American troops.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: history; kilroy; kilroywashere

1 posted on 09/16/2008 5:25:14 AM PDT by decimon
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To: decimon

I’ll have to print this article for my kids to read. We spent two weeks in Washington DC this summer over the 4th of July and I met a very nice veteran at the WWII Memorial and asked him where Kilroy was since I had offered ice cream to the first kid to find it. 14 yr old DD found it first. We were at the memorial 2 different days during our trip and each day a different veteran was there, it was an honor to meet and shake both of their hands and thank them for their service to our country.


2 posted on 09/16/2008 5:29:04 AM PDT by Qwackertoo
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To: decimon

3 posted on 09/16/2008 5:38:48 AM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: decimon
 

         ___
        /o o\
__nnn__|__ __|__nnn__
  UUU     U     UUU
 

4 posted on 09/16/2008 5:39:14 AM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: decimon

I can guarantee that Kilroy is alive and well. I left his mark on a wall in Somalia. The building was being used as a school when I left but Kilroy was still there.

Semper Fidelis ;)


5 posted on 09/16/2008 6:45:18 AM PDT by marine86297 (I'll never forgive Clinton for Somalia, my blood is on his hands)
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To: AFreeBird
Just a little touchup FRiend! LOL
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
6 posted on 09/16/2008 6:53:15 AM PDT by mkjessup (I'm not a Community Organizer, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night!)
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To: decimon

Perhaps we should show up at campaign rallies with “kilroy IS here” signs.


7 posted on 09/16/2008 7:01:36 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: marine86297

Think of how the opposition must see this: We have this one amazing warrior, who is able to be everywhere, all over the globe... for 60+ years, the guy has been snoopin’ and poopin’ everywhere in the world, leaving his mark.

Enemies have reason to fear us. Kilroy is everywhere. He sees everything you do. The heck with intel satellites and UAV’s - Kilroy is on the job.

;-)


8 posted on 09/16/2008 7:02:33 AM PDT by NVDave
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To: decimon

Worst album Styx ever did.


9 posted on 09/16/2008 7:03:02 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: decimon
Boy, does this bring back memories.

I remember my father, who was a WWII vet, drawing Kilroy for me when I was about 4 years old and telling me the history.

It was one of my favorite childhood doodles.

10 posted on 09/16/2008 7:10:15 AM PDT by Madame Dufarge
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To: mkjessup

LOL good one!


11 posted on 09/16/2008 7:15:21 AM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: mkjessup

How about, “Palin was here.”


12 posted on 09/16/2008 7:19:10 AM PDT by decimon
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To: decimon
While Americans shared a few good-hearted laughs over the mysterious Kilroy, who somehow managed to arrive at every destination first, the slogan was a more serious matter for the opposition.

In the movie - Kelley's Heroes - at the end after Kelly, Big Joe, Crap-Game, and Odd Ball have cleared out, their CO makes his way to the now empty bank. On the wall is Kilroy, along with an Up Yours logo.

13 posted on 09/16/2008 7:20:10 AM PDT by 7thson (I've got a seat at the big conference table! I'm gonna paint my logo on it!)
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To: decimon
Found online: "James J. Kilroy, a shipyard inspector, worked here at the Bethlemen Steel Shipyard here in Quincy, Massachusetts." (Also there's a restaurant/bar in Quincy named Kilroy's after him)

(some kids next to Kilroy display) http://flickr.com/photos/rpkrajewski/144843522/ It looks like it says "This Is The Home Of Kilroy" behind them.

14 posted on 09/16/2008 7:51:41 AM PDT by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio

http://flickr.com/photos/rpkrajewski/144843522/


15 posted on 09/16/2008 7:52:08 AM PDT by raccoonradio
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To: decimon

The Shadow was in Okinawa in 1965. It was a figure of an invisible man wearing a hat, coat, and boots. We made a stencil and spray painted it in a lot of strange places. :0)


16 posted on 09/16/2008 8:06:53 AM PDT by seemoAR
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To: seemoAR

Kilroy was my Moms cousin..she left me some of his drawings when she died.


17 posted on 09/16/2008 8:14:24 AM PDT by pitinkie (revenge will be sweet)
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To: decimon

The “Kilroy was here” drawing was ubiquitous when I was growing up in the fifties and sixties. It pretty much petered out by the seventies.


18 posted on 09/16/2008 12:26:37 PM PDT by driftless2
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To: decimon

Confession time. I’ve done my part to keep the Kilroy mystery alive. On foreign trips, I would pull a drawer from the furniture in a hotel room and write “Kilroy was here” on the bottom side. Bad television and good beer may have had something to do with it. Someday, some foreigner is going to wonder, WTF???


19 posted on 09/16/2008 2:26:31 PM PDT by TexasRepublic (When hopelessness replaces hope, it opens the door to evil.)
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To: decimon; All
"I am the modern man...who hides behind a mask.." Photobucket
20 posted on 09/16/2008 6:27:39 PM PDT by TheRobb7 (Has "Movement Conservatism" FINALLY been reborn?)
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