Rocker Rick Springfield revealed that he accidentally killed a person with a mortar shell while performing for U.S. troops in Vietnam as a 17-year-old musician, according to accounts from the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast and his 2010 memoir Late, Late at Night. The Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his 1980s megahit “Jessie’s Girl,” recounted how a 1968 USO-style tour of Southeast Asia shifted from youthful bravado to a haunting lifelong burden during an attack at a Navy encampment near Da Nang.
From 1968 Tour to Combat Reality in Vietnam
According to interviews and memoirs detailed by the artist, Springfield traveled to Vietnam at age 17 alongside other band members and female performers to entertain American forces. Springfield explained that bands were hired because troops “wanted to see, you know, girls that reminded them of home,” noting that the four-month stint in the war zone was viewed at the time as a way to earn money, though most of it was spent at the PX, per reporting on the podcast appearance.
The situation escalated sharply when Springfield’s group stayed overnight with U.S. Navy personnel at an encampment in the Marble Mountains near Da Nang. When the perimeter bunkers came under sudden enemy fire, Springfield sheltered in a radio shack. Caught up in the chaos of the moment, he began hastily loading and throwing mortar rounds down a launch tube, later remarking to host Joe Rogan that he “could have easily lost a hand” due to haphazard handling.
The Mortar Strike That Still Haunts Rick Springfield
What Springfield initially treated as an action-movie adventure quickly gave way to a permanent psychological weight. “It was like the movies,” Springfield said on the podcast, recalling how he was told to throw mortars down the tube in what felt like “John Wayne time.” The next day, however, military 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.
According to his memoir and podcast comments, that single moment remains an unresolved piece of his past. “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 and I didn’t really have anything to do with it and didn’t really know what I was doing,” Springfield said. He noted that the wartime service also exposed him to widespread disillusionment among American soldiers, recalling that troops frequently told him they did not understand why they were deployed in the conflict.
Did you know? Rick Springfield documented the harrowing Vietnam mortar incident long before his recent podcast appearance, writing about how it still “sends a shiver down my spine” in his 2010 autobiography, Late, Late at Night.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Rick Springfield visit Vietnam?
Springfield traveled to Vietnam in 1968 as a 17-year-old musician to entertain U.S. troops stationed in the war zone.
Where did the attack take place?
The attack occurred at a U.S. Navy encampment located in the Marble Mountains near Da Nang, according to Springfield’s accounts.
What song is Rick Springfield most famous for?
Springfield achieved international superstardom in the 1980s with his Grammy-winning megahit “Jessie’s Girl.”
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