WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF “WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US?
Kelly’s modification of Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry’s “We have met the enemy and he is ours” originally appeared in the preface to “Potluck Pogo” as “…we may meet the enemy and, he may not only be ours, he may be us.” The more familiar version appeared as an environmental statement on the first Earth Day, April 20, 1970. Kelly reused it for environmental and other messages and it has since been used for a wide spectrum of causes. The illustration (art by Walt, color by Selby Daley Kelly) shows one of the best-known examples.
