Rick Springfield Confesses Fired a Mortar, Killing a Soldier in Vietnam

Rick Springfield, the 77‑year‑old Grammy winner, opened up on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on Tuesday, September 8, about a harrowing episode during his Vietnam tour. He detailed how, as part of a musical group aimed at entertaining U.S. troops, he inadvertently fired a mortar during an attack.

The singer said he still carries the guilt from that event.

During the interview,

Springfield explained that the band’s presence in Vietnam was made possible by soldiers’ desire for “girls that reminded them of home,” and that having women in the group “would hire you and you could tour Vietnam during the war zone.” He recalled spending roughly four months in the country, performing for troops who needed a taste of normal life amid conflict.

The episode also highlighted Springfield’s youth at the time; he was only in his early twenties when he found himself thrown into the chaos of a war zone. The singer said he had no prior experience with combat or weaponry, yet he would later discover that his actions had serious consequences.

## Background and Tour Conditions

The Vietnam War began in 1955 and lasted for twenty years. In the late 1960s, Springfield’s band traveled with U.S. troops to perform for soldiers stationed overseas.

The group’s inclusion of female members was key to their recruitment, as many soldiers wanted a reminder of home. , the U.S. military “hired you and you could tour Vietnam during the war zone” because the singers brought a sense of familiarity to troops far from Australia, the closest occidental country.

Springfield said that the band’s stay in Vietnam lasted about four months, during which they performed for soldiers on various bases. The singer noted that the military environment was intense, with constant tension and danger.

He recalled that “we were there for about four months,” a period in which the war’s daily realities intersected with his role as an entertainer.

## The Mortar Incident and Its Aftermath

During one evening, Springfield found himself bunking with a group of soldiers. He described how the men had “really got along well” and that they stayed overnight together in perimeter bunkers. While he was in the radio shack, the group was attacked.

“We got attacked,” he said, recalling the sudden assault. “I’m throwing mortars down the freaking tube of the radio shack.”

A warning message arrived through the radio about nearby movement and a lack of allies. The soldiers told him, “Hey, you want to throw some mortars down the tube?” Springfield said that at the time he was “inspired by John Wayne time” and did not understand what he was doing. The incident left a lasting impression on him.

He later reflected that he was uncertain about the outcome of his actions during the attack. “I learned that I had 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,’” he recalled.

The memory has remained with him ever since.

## Long‑Term Guilt and Reflection

Springfield told listeners that the guilt from the incident has persisted. “I think it’s still there, you know? It’s hard for me to kind of face [the fact] that I was responsible for the end of a life,” he said.

He added that it is difficult to reconcile his role as a performer with the violent context of war. “And I didn’t really have anything to do with it and didn’t really know what I was doing, but you know, as a kid and playing, like I said, John Wayne.”

He emphasized that the war’s distance does not lessen the impact on his conscience. The singer concluded that even though the event occurred decades ago, the memory is vivid. He continues to grapple with the knowledge that his actions, however unintentional, led to a loss of life.