Category Archives: Armed Forces

WWII GIs enjoyed putting Kilroy in odd places, so that no matter where someone came, Kilroy seemingly had been there already. They took the graffiti home with them and Kilroy became a big enough deal that he is ENGRAVED into the World War II monument in Washington, D.C.  My GIs are coming tomorrow, so this wonderful bit of military Americana seems especially appropriate for today’s blog.

In 1946 the American Transit Association, through its radio program, “Speak to America ,” sponsored a nationwide contest to find the original Kilroy, offering a prize of a real trolley car to the person who could prove himself to be the genuine article. Almost 40 men stepped forward, but only James J. Kilroy from Halifax, Massachusetts, had evidence to back up his claim.

During the war, he had worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA. Riveters got paid by the rivet; checkers like Kilroy counted and marked off completed rivets in semi-waxed lumber chalk, then reported the total to payroll. When Kilroy found out that unscrupulous riveters were erasing and moving his marks so they could get more money, he began putting “Kilroy was here” at his stopping place, instead of a simple check mark.

To help prove his authenticity in 1946, James Kilroy brought along officials from the shipyard and some of the riveters. He won the trolley car, which he gave to his nine children as a Christmas gift and set it up as a playhouse in the Kilroy yard in Halifax, Massachusetts.

Ordinarily the rivets and chalk marks would have been covered up with paint, but with the war on, ships were leaving the Quincy Yard so fast that there wasn’t time to paint every surface. As a result, Kilroy’s inspection “trademark” was seen by thousands of servicemen who boarded the troopships the yard produced. They thought it was a great joke and proceeded to place the graffiti wherever they landed, often claiming it had been there before them.

Before war’s end, Kilroy had been everywhere from Berlin to Tokyo. Then the GIs brought him home where he caught on with the general population and is sometimes still used today. It is said Kilroy is on Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the Arc de Triomphe, and even scrawled in the dust on the moon. Another story goes that, in 1945, an outhouse was built for the exclusive use of Roosevelt, Stalin, & Churchill at the Potsdam conference. Its first occupant was Stalin, who emerged & asked his aide (in Russian), “Who is Kilroy?”

I hid a “Kilroy was here” somewhere along the treasure hunt stops that Army Princess will have to find in order to get this year’s Big Present. Tee hee!

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilroy_was_here
• http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM4F0R_Kilroy_Was_Here_World_War_II_Memorial_Washington_DC
• http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C11FC3D591B7B93C6AB1789D95F428485F9
• http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/04/15/kilroy-was-here

H/t J-bob

Posted at a quilting board: “My DS called me the day before Thanksgiving and said “Mom, what would you say if someone asked you to make a quilt in two weeks?” I believe the look on my face was the only answer he needed but he went on to explain it was for his unit and would benefit local soldiers and since I have two sons in that unit, how could I refuse and I didn’t. He showed me a picture of the quilt he wanted and I drafted a pattern and called on my cousin for help. It has the Soldiers Creed embroidered on the white strips and I can’t even recite it now without choking up…In 6 days, we completed the quilt and I delivered it to the armory this morning. This is the most meaningful quilt I have ever made and I’d do it again in a heartbeat…but not while working and most definitely NOT in 6 days!”

Soldier’s Creed

I am an American Soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.

Sources:

• http://www.quiltingboard.com/pictures-f5/6th-day-t236259.html
• http://www.army.mil/values/soldiers.html

H/t What A Hoot

During World War I, the German Army was often successful in tapping the American Army’s phone lines and learning the locations of our troops and supplies. The Germans lost that advantage when the 36th Infantry Division introduced their Choctaw code talkers.

Ms. Mozelle Dawson, daughter of Albert Billy, a Choctaw warrior, and Soldier of the Texas Army National Guard, wrote in her memoirs that it was her father’s idea to use Choctaw Soldiers on the phone lines, speaking in their native dialect, to confuse the Germans.

Soon after the Choctaw Code Talkers were put on the phones, the Germans began losing. At one point, a captured German General asked, “What nationality was on the phones?”

He was told it was “only Americans” that had been on the phones.

For more information on the Choctaw code talkers, visit the TXMF Museum website @ http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/choctaw/codetalkers.htm

Source:
http://texasmilitaryforces.tumblr.com/post/67685906177/before-there-were-wind-talkers-texas-had-the-choctaw