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* AFatherToHisMen: Kilgore is a genial commander who does care for his soldiers, despite his bloodthirstiness.

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* AFatherToHisMen: Kilgore is a genial commander who does care for his soldiers, despite his bloodthirstiness.bloodlust.

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* BloodKnight



* AFatherToHisMen: Kilgore is a genial commander who cares for his soldiers.

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* AFatherToHisMen: Kilgore is a genial commander who cares does care for his soldiers.soldiers, despite his bloodthirstiness.
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* AFatherToHisMen: Kilgore is a genial commander who cares for his soldiers.
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* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous

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* ElitesAreMoreGlamorousElitesAreMoreGlamorous: A veteran special operations officer serving in the Army's elite 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.



* ProfessionalKiller

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* ProfessionalKillerProfessionalKiller: He functions more as an assassin than a conventional soldier. He was assigned to kill Kurtz precisely because of his skills and experience in wetwork.
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* TheDanza: Called Jerry by the general.
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* {{Badass}} Colonel Kurtz is noted in the movie to be a highly decorated and gifted officer, everyone loved and respected him for his talent and were grooming him to be the golden boy officer. On the battlefield his tactics were supremely effective, going head and shoulders above his superior officer's attempts at defeating the enemy. His reputation on the field of battle made him a feared and worthy opponent to the Vietnamese; even awol in Cambodia the Vietnamese fear the effectiveness of his tactics.
* BaldOfEvil: Back when Kurtz was still in the Army, as can be seen in his dossier photos, he had a full head of air; giving him a vibe of a handsome, professional officer. When Willard arrives at his compound Kurtz has since shaved his head bald to contrast the professional, civilized air his previous appearance had; suggesting a regression into a more primal state.

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* {{Badass}} {{Badass}}: Colonel Kurtz is noted in the movie to be a highly decorated and gifted officer, everyone loved with a list of accomplishments so large that makes Willard take a long thoughtful pause to marvel at them. Every conceivable professional award, both in the administrative sense and respected for valor in combat was awarded to Kurtz over his career, making him for his talent and were grooming him to be the stand out as a golden boy officer. On officer who was gonna be the battlefield king of the hill some day. In Vietnam his combat tactics were supremely effective, going head have been extremely effective and shoulders above have had a high success rate for defeating and demoralizing the enemy; so much so that he made the US Army look bad when he used '''his''' methods instead of the recommendations of his superior officer's attempts at defeating officers and his tactics ended up winning the enemy. His reputation on the field of battle made him a feared and worthy opponent to the Vietnamese; even awol in Cambodia the day. The Vietnamese fear the effectiveness enemy is quite frankly terrified of his tactics.
him.
* BaldOfEvil: Back when Kurtz was still in with the Army, as can be seen in his dossier photos, Army he had a full head of air; giving him a vibe of hair. He's shown as a handsome, professional officer. When Willard arrives at looking officer in his compound Kurtz has since shaved his head bald to dossier photos. To contrast the professional, civilized air professional look he had during his previous appearance had; suggesting a regression military service the Kurtz who has transformed himself into a jungle king is bald. The shaved head evokes a vibe of regression, that Kurtz has reverted to a more primal state. state of mind.

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%%* {{Badass}}
%%* BaldOfEvil
%%* BigBad
%%* KnightTemplar
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist

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%%* {{Badass}}
%%* BaldOfEvil
%%* BigBad
%%* KnightTemplar
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist
* {{Badass}} Colonel Kurtz is noted in the movie to be a highly decorated and gifted officer, everyone loved and respected him for his talent and were grooming him to be the golden boy officer. On the battlefield his tactics were supremely effective, going head and shoulders above his superior officer's attempts at defeating the enemy. His reputation on the field of battle made him a feared and worthy opponent to the Vietnamese; even awol in Cambodia the Vietnamese fear the effectiveness of his tactics.
* BaldOfEvil: Back when Kurtz was still in the Army, as can be seen in his dossier photos, he had a full head of air; giving him a vibe of a handsome, professional officer. When Willard arrives at his compound Kurtz has since shaved his head bald to contrast the professional, civilized air his previous appearance had; suggesting a regression into a more primal state.
* BigBad: Arguable example. While Kurtz's actions are clearly extreme, and in violation of neutral territory surrounding Vietnam, nothing Kurtz does is any more evil than what his enemies or the US military is doing. The only thing that makes him even even close to serving this role is the fact that he sets the plot of the movie in motion.
* ColonelBadass: Not as overstated as Kilgore, but it should be noted his rate of success in battle with the enemy was high and the enemy feared him.
* KnightTemplar: Is extremely zealous about the idea of achieving victory at any cost.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Views winning a war as the highest priority of a soldier, and the greatest possible good they can achieve. Doesn't matter what it takes to win, even if you have to be cruel, because winning is right and losing is wrong.
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->'''Played By:''' Scott Glenn

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->'''Played By:''' Scott Glenn
Creator/ScottGlenn
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* ShoutOut: To Kubrick's friend and frequent collaborator Creator/GeorgeLucas, who was at one time tapped to direct the film.

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* ShoutOut: To Kubrick's Coppola's friend and frequent collaborator Creator/GeorgeLucas, who was at one time tapped to direct the film.

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-->''"Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor...and surviving."''




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-->''"I love the smell of napalm in the morning."''




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%%* AFatherToHisMen

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\n%%* AFatherToHisMen----
* AFatherToHisMen: In particular to Clean, whose youth stirs parental feelings in the Chief.



%%* TakingYouWithMe

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%%* TakingYouWithMe* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:After being impaled with a spear, he tries to pull Willard onto the end of it.]]



-->''"This is the way the fucking world ends. Look at this fucking shit we're in man. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. And with a whimper, I'm fucking splitting, Jack."''




* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Coppola based the character on Creator/ErrolFlynn's son, Sean, who disappeared in Cambodia during Vietnam.

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\n* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Coppola based the character on Creator/ErrolFlynn's son, Sean, who disappeared in Cambodia during Vietnam.\n----



%%* EruditeStoner: The TropeCodifier.
%%* MotorMouth
%% *NoNameGiven
%%* PsychoSupporter

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%%* * EruditeStoner: The TropeCodifier.
%%* MotorMouth
%% *NoNameGiven
%%* PsychoSupporter
* MotorMouth: He talks rabidly about a variety of subjects in a short amount of time.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Coppola based the character on Creator/ErrolFlynn's son, Sean, who disappeared in Cambodia during Vietnam.
* NoNameGiven: He's only known as 'the Photojournalist'.
* PsychoSupporter: To Kurtz, who he considers an idol.




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* BlackAndWhiteMorality: It's unclear (although unlikely) that he believes what he's saying, but Corman tries to espouse this idea to morally justify giving Willard the mission to kill Kurtz. For his part, Willard doesn't exactly buy it.




%%* TheQuietOne

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\n%%* TheQuietOne----
* TheQuietOne: He only has one line of dialogue, but it's memorable and chilling.
-->''"Terminate with extreme prejudice."''




* ShoutOut: To friend frequent collaborate Creator/GeorgeLucas, who was at one time tapped to direct the film.

%%* DeskJockey
%%* MrExposition

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\n----
* DeskJockey: With his fresh-faced look and stoical exposition, he certainly gives off this impression. It's unlikely he's ever been in the field.
* MrExposition: He outlines the basic plot of the film; to travel up the river and kill Kurtz.
-->''"Your mission is to proceed up the Nung River in a Navy patrol boat. Pick up Colonel Kurtz's path at Nu Mung Ba, follow it and learn what you can along the way. When you find the Colonel, infiltrate his team by whatever means available and terminate the Colonel's command."''
* ShoutOut: To Kubrick's friend and frequent collaborate collaborator Creator/GeorgeLucas, who was at one time tapped to direct the film.

%%* DeskJockey
%%* MrExposition
film.
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* ColonelBadass
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* ShellShockSoldier: While still in the war he certainly qualifies and it just gets worse

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* ShellShockSoldier: ShellShockedVeteran: While still in the war he certainly qualifies and it just gets worse
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* ShellShockVeteran: While still in the war he certainly qualifies and it just gets worse

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* ShellShockVeteran: ShellShockSoldier: While still in the war he certainly qualifies and it just gets worse
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%%* ColonelKilgore: The TropeNamer.

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%%* * ColonelKilgore: The TropeNamer.

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* {{Badass}}

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* {{Badass}}{{Badass}}: Especially in the Redux version



* ShellShockVeteran: While still in the war he certainly qualifies and it just gets worse



* SociopathicSoldier

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* SociopathicSoldierSociopathicSoldier: A soft Type 3 example

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* BadAss



* {{Badass}}
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
* ProfessionalKiller
* RageAgainstTheReflection
* SanitySlippage
* ShirtlessScene
* SociopathicSoldier
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kurtz]]
!!Col. Walter E. Kurtz
->'''Played By:''' Creator/MarlonBrando

A highly decorated U.S. Army Special Forces with the 5th Special Forces Group who goes rogue. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US military as much as the North Vietnamese and Vietcong.



%%* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous
%%* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
%%* ProfessionalKiller
%%* RageAgainstTheReflection
%%* SanitySlippage
%%* ShirtlessScene
%%* SociopathicSoldier

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%%* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous
BaldOfEvil
%%* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
BigBad
%%* ProfessionalKiller
KnightTemplar
%%* RageAgainstTheReflection
%%* SanitySlippage
%%* ShirtlessScene
%%* SociopathicSoldier
WellIntentionedExtremist



[[folder:Kurtz]]
!!Col. Walter E. Kurtz
->'''Played By:''' Creator/MarlonBrando

A highly decorated U.S. Army Special Forces with the 5th Special Forces Group who goes rogue. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US military as much as the North Vietnamese and Vietcong.

%%* {{Badass}}
%%* BaldOfEvil
%%* BigBad
%%* KnightTemplar
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist
[[/folder]]
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* BadAss
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*NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Coppola based the character on Creator/ErrolFlynn's son, Sean, who disappeared in Cambodia during Vietnam.


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%% *NoNameGiven
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* ShoutOut: To notable B-Movie producer Creator/RogerCorman, who gave Coppola his start in Hollywood.


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* ShoutOut: To friend frequent collaborate Creator/GeorgeLucas, who was at one time tapped to direct the film.

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Commented out Zero Context Examples.


%%
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%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
%%
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* {{Badass}}
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
* ProfessionalKiller
* RageAgainstTheReflection
* SanitySlippage
* ShirtlessScene
* SociopathicSoldier

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* %%* {{Badass}}
* %%* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous
* %%* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
* %%* ProfessionalKiller
* %%* RageAgainstTheReflection
* %%* SanitySlippage
* %%* ShirtlessScene
* %%* SociopathicSoldier



* {{Badass}}
* BaldOfEvil
* BigBad
* KnightTemplar
* WellIntentionedExtremist

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* %%* {{Badass}}
* %%* BaldOfEvil
* %%* BigBad
* %%* KnightTemplar
* %%* WellIntentionedExtremist



* ColonelKilgore: The TropeNamer.
* CoolShades
* NiceHat
* ShirtlessScene

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* %%* ColonelKilgore: The TropeNamer.
* %%* CoolShades
* %%* NiceHat
* %%* ShirtlessScene



* DecapitationPresentation
* HeroicBSOD
* MotorMouth
* OffWithHisHead

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* %%* DecapitationPresentation
* %%* HeroicBSOD
* %%* MotorMouth
* %%* OffWithHisHead



* AFatherToHisMen
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice
* OnlySaneMan
* TheStoic
* TakingYouWithMe

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* %%* AFatherToHisMen
* %%* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice
* %%* OnlySaneMan
* %%* TheStoic
* %%* TakingYouWithMe



* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* PrettyBoy

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* %%* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* %%* PrettyBoy



* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* EruditeStoner: The TropeCodifier.
* MotorMouth
* PsychoSupporter
* TalkativeLoon

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* %%* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* %%* EruditeStoner: The TropeCodifier.
* %%* MotorMouth
* %%* PsychoSupporter
* %%* TalkativeLoon



* TheQuietOne

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* %%* TheQuietOne



* DeskJockey
* MrExposition

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* %%* DeskJockey
* %%* MrExposition
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Do not spoiler tag trope names on work pages or the names of works on trope pages; please see Handling Spoilers for more information.


* [[spoiler:DecapitationPresentation]]

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* [[spoiler:DecapitationPresentation]]DecapitationPresentation



* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]

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* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]OffWithHisHead



* [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice]]

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* [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice]]ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice



* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe]]

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* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe]]TakingYouWithMe
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->'''Played By:''' Creatpr/DennisHopper

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->'''Played By:''' Creatpr/DennisHopper
Creator/DennisHopper
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* PsychoSupporter
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* KnightTemplar
* WellIntentionedExtremist
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* [[spoiler:DecapitationPresentation]]
* HeroicBSOD
* MotorMouth
* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]


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* AFatherToHisMen
* [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice]]
* OnlySaneMan
* TheStoic
* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe]]


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* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* PrettyBoy


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* MotorMouth


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* TheQuietOne


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* DeskJockey
* MrExposition
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->'''Played By:''' Creator/RobertDuvall

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->'''Played By:''' Creator/RobertDuvall
Robert Duvall
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->'''Played By:''' Creatpr/MarlonBrando

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->'''Played By:''' Creatpr/MarlonBrando
Creator/MarlonBrando

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Changed: 12

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----



1st Squadron, 9th Air Cavalry Regiment commander and surfing fanatic. Kilgore is a strong leader who loves his men but has methods that appear out-of-tune with the setting of the war. [[/folder]]

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1st Squadron, 9th Air Cavalry Regiment commander and surfing fanatic. Kilgore is a strong leader who loves his men but has methods that appear out-of-tune with the setting of the war. war.

* ColonelKilgore: The TropeNamer.
* CoolShades
* NiceHat
* ShirtlessScene
[[/folder]]




* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* EruditeStoner: The TropeCodifier.
* TalkativeLoon



[[/folder]]

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[[/folder]][[/folder]]
----
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* {{Badass}}
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
* ProfessionalKiller
* RageAgainstTheReflection
* SanitySlippage
* ShirtlessScene
* SociopathicSoldier


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* {{Badass}}
* BaldOfEvil
* BigBad
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Willard]]
!!Capt. Benjamin L. Willard
->'''Played By:''' Creator/MartinSheen

A veteran U.S. Army special operations officer who has been serving in Vietnam for three years.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kurtz]]
!!Col. Walter E. Kurtz
->'''Played By:''' Creatpr/MarlonBrando

A highly decorated U.S. Army Special Forces with the 5th Special Forces Group who goes rogue. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US military as much as the North Vietnamese and Vietcong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kilgore]]
!!Lt. Col. William "Bill" Kilgore
->'''Played By:''' Creator/RobertDuvall

1st Squadron, 9th Air Cavalry Regiment commander and surfing fanatic. Kilgore is a strong leader who loves his men but has methods that appear out-of-tune with the setting of the war. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Chef]]
!!Engineman 3rd Class Jay "Chef" Hicks
->'''Played By:''' Frederic Forrest

A tightly wound former chef from New Orleans who is horrified by his surroundings.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chief]]
!!Chief Quartermaster George Phillips
->'''Played By:''' Albert Hall

The chief runs a tight ship and frequently clashes with Willard over authority. Has a father-son relationship with Clean.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lance]]
!!Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson
->'''Played By:''' Sam Bottoms

A former professional surfer from California. He is known to drop acid.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Clean]]
!!Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller
->'''Played By:''' Creator/LaurenceFishburne

A seventeen-year-old cocky South Bronx-born crewmember.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Photojournalist]]
!!The Photojournalist
->'''Played By:''' Creatpr/DennisHopper

A manic disciple of Kurtz who greets Willard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Corman]]
!!Lieutenant General Corman
->'''Played By:''' G. D. Spradlin

An authoritarian officer who fears Kurtz and wants him removed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mysterious Man]]
!!The Mysterious Man
->'''Played By:''' Jerry Ziesmer

A mysterious man in civilian attire who sits in on Willard's initial briefing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lucas]]
!!Colonel G. Lucas
->'''Played By:''' Creator/HarrisonFord

An aide to Corman and a general information specialist who gives Willard his orders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Colby]]
!!Capt. Richard M. Colby
->'''Played By:''' Scott Glenn

Previously assigned Willard's current mission before he defected to Kurtz's private army and sent a message to his wife telling her to sell everything they owned (but he goes on to tell her to sell their children, as well).
[[/folder]]

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