Rick Springfield has revealed that he believes he killed a man with a mortar bomb while performing for troops during the Vietnam War in 1968.
The 77-year-old Jessie’s Girl singer made the startling admission during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he reflected on his teenage years in a warzone and the traumatic memory he says has stayed with him for nearly 60 years.
Springfield explained that he and his band, MPD Limited, went to South Vietnam in 1968 to entertain American and allied servicemen, spending roughly four months in the country as the conflict raged around them.
“It was insane,” he said, recalling that he initially viewed the trip as a chance to earn money. “I thought, ‘Oh, great. We’ll make money, you know.’ And, of course, we didn’t make any money. We spent it all at the PX, and we weren’t making much money anyway.”
Springfield, who was 19 at the time, said the tour soon became perilous when he and his bandmates were caught up in an attack, forcing him into what he described as a split-second decision to throw mortar bombs.
He said: ‘We met these guys, and we really got along well, and we stayed overnight with them, and we all got in the bunkers, in the perimeter bunkers, and I stayed in the radio shack, and we got attacked, and I’m throwing mortars down the freaking tube of the radio shack.’
Rick Springfield has said he killed a man with a mortar bomb during his time entertaining troops amid the Vietnam War, in an emotional new interview
The Jessie’s Girl hitmaker, 77, stunned fans during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience , where he opened up about being in Vietnam as a teenager – pictured
‘It was freaky. This is before – you couldn’t do any of this now.’
He added: ‘The hardest thing for me was 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!”
‘And that was… it still has a place… hard place to land in me, you know.
‘And that’s really the kind of the one thing I brought back with me that I couldn’t really find a place for that to land. And still… it still seems like you know years ago, another guy, another place.’
Springfield said he still finds it ‘hard to face’ that ‘I was responsible for the end of a you know 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.
‘But you know as a kid and playing, like I said John Wayne, but it was pretty heavy when you know, when I think about the reality of it.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Springfield for further comment and has yet to hear back.
The Vietnam War informally began in the early 1950s and formally began in 1965 after the United States deployed troops to the Southeast Asian nation to fight in the conflict against North Vietnam and in support of South Vietnam.
Its objective was to prevent the country from becoming communist.
Springfield detailed how he and his band traveled to Vietnam in 1968 to tour and provide entertainment for serving soldiers, staying for around four months
Springfield said the trip quickly took a dangerous turn when he and his bandmates found themselves caught in an attack alongside soldiers – with the musician making a split second decision to throw mortar bombs – pictured in Vietnam
He added, ‘The hardest thing for me was 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!”
Soldiers are seen being treated during Operation Hue City in Vietnam 06 February, 1968 – the year Springfield was in the country
Host Rogan looked visibly shocked as Springfield’s devastating tale unfolded
The former Zoot guitarist has been married to the mother of his two children, Barbara Porter, since 1984 – pictured 2015
The US withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam became a communist nation in 1975. The conflict claimed at least three million lives, including 58,000 Americans.
Springfield was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe in Australia.
He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971.
Springfield’s biggest hit came in 1981 with the catchy pop tune Jessie’s Girl
Then he started his solo career with his debut single, Speak to the Sky, which reached the top ten in Australia in mid-1971.
His biggest hit came in 1981 with the catchy pop tune Jessie’s Girl.
The former Zoot guitarist, who has been married to the mother of his two children, Barbara Porter, since 1984,
