Rick Springfield shared his experiences during the Vietnam War while appearing on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. The Australian singer recounted how he and his band traveled to Vietnam in 1968 to entertain American troops. Springfield noted that the soldiers were eager to see performers who reminded them of home, which led to their engagement for a four-month tour.
Initially, Springfield had low expectations for the trip, focusing on earning a paycheck. He stated, "It was insane. 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."
However, the situation escalated when Springfield found himself in a combat scenario. He described an attack where he was in a radio shack and had to throw mortars in response to the threat. Springfield reflected on the moment, saying, "It was freaky. This is before – you couldn’t do any of this now."
He later learned that one of the mortars he fired had hit someone, which left a lasting impact on him. Springfield recounted, "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.'" He expressed the emotional weight of being responsible for taking a life, stating, "I think it’s still there, you know? It’s hard for me to kind of face that I was responsible for the end of a life, even though it’s distant, and it’s war."
Springfield's reflections highlight the complexities of his experience, contrasting youthful naivety with the harsh realities of war.