Also Ulysses once--that other war.
(Is it because we find his scrawl
Today on every privy door
That we forget his ancient role?)
Also was there--he did it for the wages--
When a Cathay-drunk Genoese set sail.
Whenever "longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,"
Kilroy is there;
he tells The Miller's Tale.
It is in this line that we stray away from the cartoon image of “Kilroy” and start drifting into the waters of his historical figure. Genoese ships would be sent out from Genoa, the sixth largest city in Italy where a man whose only identification was “Kilroy” would be on board. According to references, he had betrayed his shipmates and was forever known as a traitor. Through the countless rumors said about him, money being a motive for his actions, was a common tale told about the mysterious man.
Kilroy