Rick Springfield Recalls Killing Someone While on Tour Performing for Troops During Vietnam War
Rick Springfield said the memory still haunts him after he was told a mortar he fired killed a Viet Cong soldier.
- On Sept. 8, rocker Rick Springfield, 77, discussed his Vietnam War trauma during a Joe Rogan Experience podcast episode, recounting his stay at a U.S. Navy encampment in the Marble Mountains near Da Nang.
- While performing for troops at age 17 during the Vietnam War, Springfield sought shelter in a radio shack during an attack, describing the chaotic experience as feeling "like the movies."
- Springfield recalled being encouraged to fire a mortar launcher, later learning he had hit a Viet Cong soldier when told, "Hey, you got one!" He noted he "could have easily lost a hand" loading the weapon.
- Returning home after four months, Springfield carried deep trauma; his mother recalled he jumped at car backfires and had "haunted" eyes, leading him to call it one of his "deepest, darkest secrets."
- Even 50 years later, Springfield responded "I think it's still there" when asked about the trauma, noting he feels the experience happened to "another guy" in "another place" rather than truly healing.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Detroit Free Press
Rick Springfield says he killed someone during Vietnam War at just 17
Rick Springfield opened up about his trauma from killing a Viet Cong soldier during his time performing for U.S. troops, when he was just a teenager.
Rick Springfield opens up about killing a man in Vietnam while performing for troops in 1968
Rocker Rick Springfield recalled how, as a teenager, when he performed for U.S. forces in Vietnam, they came under attack and he killed a Viet Cong — haunting him to this day that he “was responsible for the end of a life.” NBC News' Maggie Vespa reports.
Australian rock star Rick Springfield has admitted to killing a man decades ago. Springfield was a young man entertaining an American date during the Vietnam War, People magazine reports. Springfield, who is 77 and best known for his song "Jessie's Girl," was discussing the incident on a new podcast when it was revealed that the incident occurred in 1968 when he was just 19 years old. Springfield was in a pop band called MPD Ltd that was touring…
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