Myth, magician, miracle worker?

Who was Kilroy?

During The Second World War, a simple little cartoon popped up all over Europe and the South Pacific in the form of a silly piece of innocent graffiti. It was found scratched on the walls of bathrooms, barracks and bordellos; it found its way onto the armor of Sherman tanks, shell casings and ship’s hulls. Men from all branches of the service considered it their good fortune if they were to come across that whimsical declaration ‘Kilroy Was Here!’ And though no such person ever really existed, Kilroy soon became a symbol to every allied serviceman that this imaginary G.I. was always there: looking over them, a lucky rabbit’s foot, a talisman guaranteeing victory and the promise of a safe trip home. Many a man went into battle with this mythical Kilroy marching right beside him. And with that belief, no young soldier ever really died alone.

Within this premise, Sheppard ‘Shep’ Pence, one of Hollywood’s legendary directors, has set out to put the vast tapestry of World War Two onto Technicolor film. Assembling a cast of thousands around the cameo appearances of this central hero, Kilroy, talk around town has it that Shep Pence has written a script that pays homage to the real life heroes of the great conflict in ‘graphic detail and heart felt dialogues’. Once the greatest director of his time, he now seems to be back on track to give the public just what it wants and save his faltering career and a studio struggling through the lean times and the changing tastes of a transforming moviegoer.

And what if some battlefield heroics credited to this mythical soldier seem a bit farfetched: stories of this Kilroy pulling men from the wreckage of a burned-out tank, and then the very same day and a thousand miles away leading men out of an enemy infested jungle. Indeed, whether carrying the wounded back from behind enemy lines or boosting morale after an ill-fated mission with a harmless prank, one thing could always be certain, Kilroy was here!

“There has to be something of magic, this is Hollywood.” The director defends. “After all, for some, he was the one soldier most talked about, the one soldier most often looked for.

Then one day, shortly before filming is to begin, Mr. Shep Pence receives a visitor.

A visitor who knows something about the real Kilroy: the myth, the magician, the miracle worker?

-A man once left for dead and then returned to life.

-A man who has been given a second chance.

-A second chance to change the world.

And it will soon become evident that this Kilroy, fulfilling a two thousand year old prophecy, is not the man anyone ever expected.