Carved into two hidden alcoves at D.C.’s World War II Memorial is an inscription that reads: “Kilroy was here.”
That phrase, accompanied by a cartoon doodle of a bald man with a long nose peeking over a wall, were at one time known all over the world by American servicemen.
During World War II, soldiers would carve and draw Kilroy’s likeness any place they had been, providing hope and inspiration to their brothers in arms who would visit those spots afterward.
On the anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, explore the history (and urban legend) of the Kilroy caricature, which almost didn’t make it onto D.C.’s WWII Memorial, on this episode of “Matt About Town!”
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