If you’ve seen the movie Apocalypse Now then it’s likely you’ve seen the great actor Robert Duvall . Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American epic war film directed, produced and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by John Milius.

Although Duvall had a very small role in the movie as Kilgore, the Lt. Colonel became a very popular character over the decades to those that knew of the movie. One of the best scenes from the movie is when Kilgore leads a whole squadron of helicopters towards a Viet Cong outpost.

As the choppers fly up along the coast at the entrance to the Nung River, his soldiers blast the music from Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries through speakers, all while they destroy everything in their path. I listed some of the great dialogue from the movie below.

One of the coolest things we got to do at Spotterup is interview Evan Rommel, founder of thirtysecondsout.com Evan is a retired Navy SEAL and the creator of a very interesting apparel and art company. Read my article about him here.

One of the other coolest things we got to do is link up the great Mr. Robert Duvall with Evan. When I first spied Evan’s painting of Lt. Kilgore, modeled after Shepard Fairey’s painting of Obama, I thought I have to get the actor and retired SEAL hooked up. Enter my buddy AJ, a writer for Spotter Up. I have to give him credit for getting the very gracious actor and this artist together.

Evan sent out a few prints of Lt. Kilgore to AJ and Mr. Duvall signed them. I understand they’ll be up for sale at a charity event. Mr. Duvall also commissioned the artwork shown in the image below. He stated, “Great work by Evan of Thirty Seconds Out. Thank you for your service and for sharing your art with us.”

Killer things do happen to good guys, man!

Kilgore: You can either surf, or you can fight!

Willard: Are you crazy, Goddammit? Don’t you think its a little risky for some R&R?
Kilgore: If I say its safe to surf this beach, Captain, then its safe to surf this beach! I mean, I’m not afraid to surf this place, I’ll surf this whole fucking place!

Kilgore: Charlie don’t surf!

Kilgore: Smell that? You smell that?
Lance: What?
Kilgore: Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that.
[kneels]
Kilgore: I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn’t find one of ’em, not one stinkin’ dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like
[sniffing, pondering]
Kilgore: victory. Someday this war’s gonna end…
[suddenly walks off]

Kilgore: What the hell do you know about surfing, Major? You’re from goddamned New Jersey!

Kilgore: How’re you feeling, Jimmy?
Door Gunner: Like a mean motherfucker, sir!

Colonel Kilgore: [Explaining why the helicopters play music during air assaults] We use Wagner. It scares the shit out of the slopes. My boys love it!

Kilgore: I will not hurt or harm you. Just give me back the board, Lance. It was a good board… and I like it. You know how hard it is to find a board you like…

Kilgore: [after the Red Team gunship spectacularly knocks out a heavy AA artillery unit] Outstanding, Red Team, outstanding! Get you a case of beer for that one.

Kilgore: Lieutenant, bomb that tree line about 100 yards back! Give me some room to breathe!

Kilgore: All right, let’s see what we have. Two of spades. Three of spades. Four of diamonds, six of clubs… there isn’t one worth a jack in the whole bunch. Four of diamonds…