Rick Springfield admits his Vietnam tour ended with a fatal mortar shot

Rick Springfield revealed on the Joe Rogan Experience that his early career included a four-month stint in Vietnam, where his band played for American troops who wanted familiar faces. When the base they were staying at came under fire, Springfield was in a radio shack and, following a warning, launched a mortar down its tube. He later discovered the projectile hit a man, a fact that has weighed on him ever since.

Springfield described the experience as “like the movies” and admitted he was a naïve youngster who didn’t grasp the gravity of his actions at the time. He said the memory remains a heavy burden, highlighting the stark contrast between his later pop-star fame and the wartime violence he inadvertently caused.