Lt. Col. Kilgore, (Robert Duvall) has left the beach, Patrol over!
Robert Duvall (full name Robert Selden Duvall) was a legendary American actor, director, and producer with a career spanning over seven decades.
Robert Duvall passed away on February 15, 2026, at his farm in Middleburg, Virginia, at the age of 95.
Duvall played the memorable Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, a surfing-obsessed, bombastic cavalry officer leading a helicopter assault. The famous line (one of the most iconic in cinema history, ranked #12 on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes list) comes during a scene after a napalm strike, where he reflects on the scent amid the destruction:
“Smell that? You smell that? […] Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve 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… victory. Someday this war’s gonna end.”
Richard Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries!