Musician Rick Springfield recalled during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience that he killed a Viet Cong fighter with a mortar round while performing for U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1968, an experience that according to the artist still sends a shiver down his spine. The Australian singer-songwriter was 17 years old at the time and stationed at a Navy encampment near Da Nang before achieving global music and television fame.
Rick Springfield Recalls 1968 Vietnam Combat Incident on Joe Rogan Podcast
According to reporting on the podcast episode, Springfield traveled to Southeast Asia as an unknown teenager to entertain American military personnel. While staying at a perimeter bunker near the Marble Mountains, the base came under sudden attack. Springfield told host Joe Rogan that he joined soldiers in firing weapons from a radio shack. “It was like the movies,” Springfield said. “They said, ‘Hey, you want to throw some mortars down the tube?’ And it was John Wayne time, you know.”
The situation turned grim the following day when base personnel informed him of the strike’s lethal outcome. “I’d thrown a mortar down and it had hit somebody, and they came in the next day and said, ‘Hey, you got one! You got one!'” Springfield recounted. The artist admitted that nearly six decades later, the burden of taking a life remains difficult to process. “It’s hard for me to face that I was responsible for the end of a life, even though it’s distant and it’s war,” he stated on the program.
Broader Perspectives on the Vietnam War From Troops
Beyond his personal combat recollection, Springfield observed widespread disillusionment among the young servicemen he met during his tour. The musician noted that American troops frequently questioned the purpose of the deployment. “All the ones I met were, ‘Dude, I don’t know why we’re here. I don’t know what I’m doing here,'” Springfield recalled to Rogan.
Did you know? Before launching his 1980s music career with the chart-topping hit “Jessie’s Girl” and landing a long-running role on the soap opera General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake, Springfield first documented his wartime experience in his 2010 memoir, Late, Late at Night.
In his memoir, Springfield wrote that the wartime memory remains vivid despite the passage of decades, noting that the recollection still triggers a strong physical reaction. He previously described the incident in print as something that “sends a shiver down my spine.”
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Rick Springfield travel to Vietnam?
Springfield traveled to Vietnam in 1968 at the age of 17 to perform for U.S. troops.
Where did the mortar incident take place?
The event occurred at a U.S. Navy encampment in the Marble Mountains near Da Nang.
Has Springfield discussed this incident publicly before?
Yes. Springfield detailed the exact same harrowing event in his 2010 autobiography, Late, Late at Night.
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