Rick Springfield Admits to Firing Mortars and Killing Soldier in Vietnam War

Grammy Award-winning musician Rick Springfield disclosed during a podcast appearance that he killed a Viet Cong soldier with a mortar shell during a 1968 tour entertaining troops in Da Nang. Springfield, then a teenager performing with an Australian rock band, recounted staying inside an active military radio shack that came under sudden mortar attack. Following instructions from officers who stated no friendly forces remained on the perimeter, Springfield dropped multiple mortar shells down a launch tube. Springfield acknowledged the immense physical danger of operating heavy weaponry without training and described the heavy emotional weight of the realization decades later. The disclosure revisits an incident previously mentioned in his 2010 memoir, bringing renewed public attention to the hazards faced by civilian entertainers during active military engagements of the Vietnam conflict. The musician is widely recognized for his 1981 hit single Jessie's Girl and television acting roles.