The Forgotten WWII Meme That Helped Win The War

During the height of World War II, there was an ongoing joke that helped keep the G.I.’s spirits up while marching the globe defeating evil.

Kilroy was a cartoon character, much like an internet meme of today, that made it’s way around the world by soldiers scrawling it on whatever places they’d freed from Nazi control.

The “Kilroy was here” catchphrase and bald-headed face was spotted on landmarks everywhere, and it’s even rumored that Stalin himself was spooked by seeing Kilroy at Potsdam.

It even appeared in movies, advertisements, and novelty songs of the time.

The meme’s popularity was a surprise, as was the end result…