"Kilroy Was Here," appeared almost everywhere American soldiers went. In 2003, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History acquired examples of G.I. graffiti with a particular resonance.

Reader Alec wrote in to say, “I’d like to know the origin of Kilroy was here, with the man looking over a fence. I saw this all over Germany as an Army dependent in 1954. Does it originate in ...

“Kilroy was here.” This simple yet enigmatic phrase ... Kilroy’s significance goes beyond the graffiti itself. It represents the resilience, humor, and determination of the American soldiers ...

Ancient cave art, like the Lascaux cave paintings in France, shares remarkable similarities with modern-day graffiti. Thousands of years later, during World War II, it became popular for soldiers to ...