Kilroy was here
(military, c. 1940s) Inserted in the manner of graffiti in many remote and difficult-to-access locations to mark the presence of American workers or military personnel.
(meme, late 20th c., non-military) Graffiti scrawled by random anglophones in random locations, with no associations or connotations
Really the writer doesn't want success.... He knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come when he must pass through the wall of oblivion, and he wants to leave a scratch on that wall Kilroy was here that somebody a hundred, or a thousand years later will see. William Faulkner
During World War II and for decades after, the phrase " Kilroy was here " with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Source: Internet