"KILROY WAS HERE" is a graffiti drawing that American soldiers left as they passed through European towns. The figure showed up on walls, sidewalks, abandoned tanks, and latrines. Kilroy was a positive figure—meant to show anyone who saw it that the victorious army had passed by, that, the Americans were here. There are several myths about the origin of the figure, but none can be proved. The most common theory attributes the phrase to James Kilroy, an American shipyard inspector during the war, who is said to have scrawled the phrase on new ship bulkheads to show that he had inspected the rivets.
British soldiers drew a figure called Chad. Chad was used to complain about shortages or express fantasy wishes. Above his face were the words “Wot no…” (“What? No…”) that could be finished with “hot water," “caviar,” “beer,” or anything else the graffiti artist was longing for.